Memories of the Shell Sea
by Chicken Yuki
Summary: As I find myself stuck on this island until a real farmer shows up, I get caught up in random nostalgia while making a few unexpected pals with the locals. And yet, that silver-haired jerk had to be among them... A 1st person tale of past and present.
1. Much Ado About Big Brothers

_**Disclaimer: All your Harvest Moon are belong to Marvelous Interactive**_

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There was an epic rant a friend of mine went on once:

"_Where the hell is there a living for the sincere?!_

_With this idiotic world being filled with assumptions and gossip, it's like the one thing you expect everyone around you to do is nothing BUT lie!_

_How the hell are you supposed to be able to tell the truth if no one wants to believe you?!_

_It's all about goddamn sensationalism these days!_

_I mean, what about the guys who are actually capable of expressing EXACTLY what they feel? They're screwed over by this crazy society with all this madness about "the business between a man and a woman."_

_Hate that guy making your life a living hell?_

_Too bad, there's ideas of "love hate" in the surrounding vicinity who are going to make it much worse._

_I'd think the only way to put crap like that to rest is to either get irrefutable proof that the other party in question is an irredeemable prick, or find a way to make it perfectly clear that you can't stand that person without managing to loose it in the process._

_It kinda makes me wonder if society won't allow you to be upfront about that compassionate kind of love if you're actually capable of pulling it off from the get-go._

_Or if the spectators of your life just prefer your potential love life is filled with as much convoluted conflict as possible._

_I don't know…_

_I just really feel like people like that are taken for granted are being forcibly molded into being just as "deceptive" as everyone else because their earnest logic breaks other people's brains or something._

_You know what I mean?"_

Words from my old boss, "Chief", folks.

To be honest, I only really got about half of the things he spewed out when I tried to listen, but I did get the gist of it… I think. And if I really did, it sounded somehow tragic.

But that's Chief for you. He has an odd habit of working himself up at times, but I feel like the guy has a speck of wisdom to him if you actually pay attention.

Or maybe that's just me. I'll admit that I relate to him on some grand level. Maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better by actually looking up to the guy a little?

Too bad those times at the Bed of Roses Café are all in the past.

Right now, I find myself stranded on some faraway island with a couple of neighbors obsessed with farming, and they expect ME to help out until some kid named Mark can come in and take my place.

I guess I could hack it.

I took this trip to find a proper training place, after all, and I'm thinking all this farming could give me the extra workout I need to get into top shape.

And I'm going to need all the extra strength I can get when I can finally leave this place.

You guys must be wondering who the hell I am at this point, aren't you?

If you had caught me at a past time, I'd have introduced myself as "Andre" and probably make some obnoxious crack about how easily I could kick your ass.

But I decided to let old Andre go so I can finally grow up a little and get over the fact that I'm a girl.

Just call me "Chelsea" for now. Everyone else on this island felt like calling me like that for one reason or another…

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**Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness**

**Memories of the Shell Sea**

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"_Hey! Your big bro's got some big news for you!"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Well, you see, uh, I showed off some of my moves to this fancy-shmancy martial arts guy, and he wants to take me in a student! I'm going to be learning some really cool kung-fu karate stuff now!"_

"_Oh, wow! Can I come, too? Like with boxing?"_

"_Um… no. You see, in order to train, I'll be going far away for awhile… to Japan."_

"_Awww… why can't I came with?"_

"_Er… I really don't know how to say this, but you see---"_

"_The traditions of Kaisei-ryu do not allow female students into its ranks."_

"_H-hey! Come on Sensei, you don't have to put it so bluntly!"_

"_Rules are rules… and she did want an answer."_

"_Big Brother!"_

"_Hey, look on the bright side: You still get to stay at home with Mom and Dad, but now you have all the extra space to yourself! And just maybe you can use this spare time to get ahead of me in boxing! Isn't that neat?"_

"_Big Brother!"_

"…_I'm sorry. Please look out for Mom and Dad for me while I'm gone, okay?"_

"_N-No! Don't go! Big Brother!"_

"_Y-yeah… I'll miss you too…"_

"_DON'T GO!! WAAAAIIIT!!!!"_

Damn it all.

I had that dream again.

Back at that time when I… when my brother Garret…

…

Damn it.

That jerkass of an instructor.

I will admit that for a while, I hated Japan for taking my brother away from me that time.

It was mostly thanks to that one moment that I loathed being a girl.

I couldn't continue training with my brother.

I couldn't learn the martial art that he'd be learning.

And I couldn't continue growing and maturing in the direction that I really wanted to.

Pretty ironic that one of that instructor's own students ends up taking an interest in me and wants to teach me a thing or two himself.

There were some advantages of not following my brother, though:

I feel like my boxing actually did grow a level or two higher than his.

And I got to train in Muay Thai instead, a brutal fighting style in its own right.

Overall, I ended up carving my own path, and it gave me the means to grow separate of my brother.

But if I understand my psychology right, I'm afraid to admit that the reoccurring dream thing doesn't change something about me:

I _still_ have something of a Brother Complex.

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**1st Memory: Much Ado About Big Brothers**

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Back when I was first stranded here, I found myself stuck here along with a big farming family. There was old man Taro, his pleasant daughter Felicia, and HER children Elliot and Natalie.

I was getting some odd vibes from Felicia. She reminded me of Chief's right-hand-woman and the Bed of Roses Café's Assistant Manager: Lyra Belmont.

Lyra and Felicia are both… super feminine; in the motherly sense. One look at them and you get the feeling you can talking with them about a lot of things. I think it's because you could easily tell that they love the task of taking care of everyone around them. They're a couple of regular beauties to boot.

Something tells me Lyra will actually grow up to be more like Felicia if they're not that far off to begin with.

A part of me's actually jealous of how easy they have things handled… among other things.

Though Chief always did tell me one thing:

"_Screw that! You know, you're awesome enough as it is! As you are now, you make a real badass bouncer! And a great friend, to boot! So, yeah. I really like having the usual you around."_

Again, he words things a little funny, but I somehow get it.

Now, if you were to see Elliot and Natalie together without bother asking, you'd get the impression Natalie's the older sibling.

She's the rowdier, more take-charge one that likes causing others grief… kinda like how I used to be, except it required some cross-dressing to get into character. And she's pretty tall.

Elliot, on the other hand, is nerdy-looking and really rather meek. Oddly enough, he doesn't act particularly like some pocket-protector pointdexter, and his physical work ethic could put an old fashioned factory worker to shame.

But no, like me again, Natalie's the younger sibling. And a bit of a problem child… like me.

So I pulled off my usual morning routine in watering the plants, gathering the eggs, and whatever damage I could to the rocks with my fists before giving up and just clobber them with the hammer.

I just know that trying to clear the whole field's going to take me forever. I doubt that Mark guy will actually have one devoid of debris by the time he gets here.

Since this tight-knit community tends to worry if I don't come out to see them, I leave the farm behind to make myself known. I still have issues with this, but since I figured I'll be on the island for awhile, I'm hoping I get used to the routine eventually.

And who just happens to be close by but that family I just brought up?

Apparently Elliot and Natalie were running around outside to take care of business. At least Elliot usually was. I'm never really sure what Natalie does, but if I called her out on the possibility she make checking out the flowers, she wouldn't be so dandy about it.

I was going to greet Eliot and compliment him on his fine work, but he was intercepted by the local beauty, Julia.

Normally, I wouldn't have a lot to say about someone like her, but you may very well be surprised on the impression. Given the way she dressed and all, she rubbed me the wrong way, and I'd bet anything Chief would feel just as irritated being the kind of guy that he is. I mean, here's the rundown: short shorts you'd see from those kinky girls you'd see up and down the city streets, a white bra-thing and some light blue bolero. She seems really keen in showing off her figure and all, but the only excuse of decency I can think of is the warmer temperature of the island. Her status as a blonde did NOT help at all with my first impression. Still, when I first actually talked to the girl, she was really down-to-earth, actually. No grating valley girl accent or gag-me-senseless sultry voice. Just the natural, friendly voice of a girl anyone wouldn't mind getting to know who just happens to have that kind of figure.

Figures I'd have more to be a little jealous about around here…

Even with Elliot preoccupied, I could still have said hello to both him and his would-be-girlfriend, but guess who decided to intercept me in the mean time?

Yep, Natalie.

"Hey! How's it hanging?" she greeted me with a smirk.

Being able to understand her a little, I figured it would have been harder to make friends with her. But I get the impression that everything I saw in her that I understood, she managed to see in me as well. So that meant "instant friend". Sort of…

Why does this bother me a little?

"Um… hey." I greeted awkwardly.

"Man, it's really nice to meet a kindred spirit like you!" she told me with that grin of hers intact, "I thought I'd be stuck here with my lameo brother and uptight folks, but finding out I'd have you to hang out with really made my day!"

Yeah, she was a lot like Andre all right. That was definitely the same haughty arrogance and hunger to stir things up, though this was the kind of "Andre" who couldn't care less that she was girl and wouldn't lose if it that fact were known. It makes me wonder if I'd have turned out a lot more like Natalie if I hadn't had that inferiority complex with my gender.

"G-Good for you, then!" I barely managed to reply with a smile.

"So, what's the plan for today, Chelsea? Gonna try and rough it out at the jungle place that you got Gannon to build a bridge to recently? Or maybe have it out with that Witch Princess? Maybe more training for this tourney of yours?" she asked me enthusiastically.

"I'm just going to take it easy today, actually. Maybe go fishing for some extra funds, or go out and actually talk to more people. I might go back to training later tonight, but if you wanted a personal boxing session and pick up a few tips, I can make the time," I told her.

"Ah, well that's pretty cool! Even a champ needs a day of R&R every once and a while. Even when said champ's actual a farmer," she chuckled, "but it's always real fun to pick up pointers from a pro like you."

"I'm no champ… or pro, for that matter. You're looking at some nobody amateur, but thanks, anyway, Natalie."

True. I took a pretty brutal beating trying to make a name for myself two years back. The funny thing is, the one guy to finally boot me out of that tournament was the one who dealt me the least painless defeat quite literally. Even more ironic is that the winner of that match was my brother, Garrett, all while I was disguised as that cocky punk, Andre.

Did he know it was me that whole time?

"Forget it! You're gonna be a champion one day and I just know it!" she cried while looking all starry-eyed, "And I'm gonna have the privilege of being your first prized pupil of sorts! Even if I'm not prepping myself to be a full-fledged fighter like you, it feels great that I can really give it em' like one of the best around!"

"Aw, come on. I'm hardly that great a teacher, either. I'm just giving you the basics, really." I told her, which was pretty much the truth seeing as how the fundamentals got me as far as I could.

"That's okay! I'm still a rookie, right? Say, when do you think I'll get good enough so we can move onto the Muay Thai stuff?"

Oh dear. NOW she brings that up?

If I hadn't said it before, that martial art's pretty brutal. Elbows, knees, clinching, the works; you have to use other parts of your body to safeguard your more vital regions. I mean, using your shin to block of all things?

I know Natalie's tough, but even in her shape, I think the training would mow her down pretty quickly!

I'm sticking to boxing for her.

"Um, let's forget I asked that. I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?" she suddenly added with an awkward laugh.

Internally, I sighed as she took it back.

"So, you told me earlier you had an older brother, too, right? I wonder what's like? If he's the one that got you into your hobbies, he sounds like one really cool guy! But if he's anything like my brother, sheesh, he must be annoying---"

"Actually, I'd like to think he's alright." I suddenly interrupted.

"Oh, so the former? That sounds promising. Well, if he's half as cool as you, I'd really like to meet him myself one day." Natalie replied.

I was actually referring to Elliot, not my brother, but I figured I should be thankful this conversation didn't go in an awkward direction. At least what I said really can apply to my brother, too.

"Yeah. The guy's pretty friendly and laid-back actually, but he knows how to put up a fight. I used to do some boxing with him, and he really knew how to stick and move like no one's business! And, if I really got the right impression of him lately, he's starting to have it good with the other ladies. I've even seen this European girl hung up with him. I think her name was Silvia? But yeah, she was definitely into him the last time I saw them together." I told her.

I don't know how much of an opportunity that Silvia chick had with Garret, but I imagine it didn't last long. The guy's become a real vagabond, and I haven't even had the chance to get in touch with him since that tournament he beat me in.

"Well, I don't know about the idea of the guy being a likely playboy, but everything else I heard I like." She told me with heavy interest.

"What, so you're really that interested?" I asked, "I thought you could care less about guys in that sense."

"Oh, really?"

Apparently, there was a slight redness in her face when she answered me.

"Ah, well, come on! If the guy's some average joe nobody or something as useless as Eliot, of course I wouldn't care! But if the guy's really cool and all, of course I'd show the tiniest bit of interest! E-even if it feels a little weird! And with you being the guy's sister and everything, you sound like a reliable voice!"

And that, ladies and gentleman, was the first hint of girlishness I got out of her. If it meant a lot to her, I'd have told her she's starting to get ahead of me in that department.

That was the darnedest thing about Natalie:

She could be really nice when she felt like it.

Sure, she could start rubbing you the wrong way in the process if she got all jovial about mean-spirited things, but if you earned her approval, she'd screw her own rules of being all tough and wear her heart on her sleeve for you as a bonus. It's a little jarring at times seeing her go from naughty to nice, but I'm thinking somewhere in that rough mug of her's, she wants to be a good person. As nasty as she could get, I feel like she's a much better person than I used to be.

Maybe that's why I don't want to steer her wrong and ruin everything for her…

"Thanks. And yeah, of course he's cool! My brother's the best! But I don't know if I'll ever get that chance to introduce the two of you. Besides, maybe you'll go for that Mark kid? If he's a real deal farmer, it could work it really well." I told her.

"Oh, I don't know about that. If he's replacing you of all people, he'll have a lot to live up to. And if he ends up being a total weenie, well, you already know what'll go down…" she warned me.

"I doubt they'd let some total weenie be a farmer. Besides, I've heard stuff about him. He sounds like a nice enough guy without being a complete pushover."

"Well, he better not be. I don't want to worry so much over the new guy…"

And she paused. Interesting…

"Er—I mean, I don't want that guy giving me grief. Look, I still say that guy will have a lot to live up to for taking over the farm you jump started. There's no way I'm accepting a poor substitute, got it?"

I really had to chuckle at her sudden line of defense there.

"Yeah, I got it." I answered while giving a thumb's up.

"So, about your brother Elliot, I really think---"

"What a weenie, right? Sure, the guy can do some packaging, but any idiot can pull it off if they got off their lazy bums to do it. I wish he could be a real man like your big brother, Chelsea; someone I could really look up to without so much fuss. Yeah, even if called me "squirt" or something, I think I'd be living the good life with a brother like that!" she rambled.

"Hey, Chelsea!" Julia suddenly called out, "Elliot and I were going to get something at the café! You want to join us?"

"That doesn't sound too bad for your day off. It could give Julia some quality girl talk and a rest from Elliot, too." Natalie added.

"Hey, what about you? Aren't you better acquainted with the two of them?" I asked her.

"Yeah, about that. Grandpa's going to have me do some serious inventory real soon, and I may not be coming out for awhile. You should probably take this." She told me.

"Oh, I see. Then okay, I guess I will. Good luck with work, Natalie."

"Oh no. It's Grandpa who's going to need the good luck for taking up my time!" she replied with a devious glint in her eyes.

Of course I had a bad feeling about it, but I went on my merry way anyway.

I've actually spent some time with Julia earlier, and I've enjoyed the company, but this time I think I wanted to get to know Elliot a little better, being another older brother and all.

I greeted Julia casually, then turned to Elliot, who looked intimated by my aloof expression. I decided to jab him gently on the arm with my elbow, which forced him to turn to me.

"Um… yes?" he spoke up meekly.

"Hey. Thanks for looking out for Natalie, even when she made it hard for you." I told him, while managing a smile out of it.

There was a brief look of shock on the four-eyed guy's face, but I think he heard the compliment.

"Y-You're welcome." He answered back with a sigh of relief.

After getting to know Natalie, I really wanted to tell that to Elliot for the longest time, but I barely got a chance to speak to him until that moment.

And it felt good finally telling him.

For both me and him I assume.

As for my brother, Garret?

Wherever the hell you are out there, I'd really like to see you again sometime.

Maybe you can set the record straight for me and tell me if I've really grown up since then…

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_**Up next is Denny....**_


	2. The Bandanna Brigade

"_Hey, pal! I heard about the little sabbatical you planned!"_

"_I don't think you can call it a sabbatical, but what about it?"_

" "_What about it?" What you mean "What about it?" You're leaving and you didn't say anything to me?"_

"_I told the guys at the café. I figured they'd tell you."_

"_Well it's a good thing they told me just in time! When I heard about it, I decided to get you a little going away present!"_

"_What, this red bandanna? H-hey wait! You didn't steal it from Chief, did you?"_

"_What? Of course not! I got it with my own money! Consider it a friendship bandanna!"_

"_A "friendship bandanna?" Look, Kat, that's really nice and all, but I'm not into dorky friendship stuff like this."_

"_Oh, come on! I know it'll look just great on you! I bet it'll go really good with that orange coat-thing you picked out for your trip!"_

"…_Okay, okay! Fine! Here, look! I put it on! Are you happy?"_

"_Sweet! Now we're just like sisters! Bandanna-bound sisters!"_

"_Good grief…"_

Katherine Stahl, or she preferred to be called, "Kat".

She was always the more adventurous and sociable of the two of us.

And for some reason, she was the one crazy enough to risk being torn limb from limb to get me into Muay Thai as a fellow disciple.

She always wore this bluish-purple bandanna with a paw print on her, and insisting that she's the "Cougar" of Muay Thai, even though there aren't any cougars in Thailand.

I'll admit that she had a lot of audacity for some easygoing slacker.

What is it with these lazy natural geniuses, anyway?

I can't believe she actually came up with something as lame as "friendship bandannas".

Then again, I'm wearing it right now, aren't I?

Oh man…

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**2****nd**** Memory: The Bandanna Brigade**

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One particular day, I felt like hanging out the beach and consider testing my punch out on that seaweed rock. What I found there was some little kid with a white headband in purple clothes.

"Hey, Chelsea! How's it going, man?"

"I'm not a man." I answered back bluntly.

"I know, but it's just real neat meeting you like this, man!"

His name was Charlie, and for some really weird reason, he likes calling everybody "man". Or at least, it was some really bizarre verbal tick. I don't know, I really hope he comes up with something else for females. Then again, this would be more bearable if I were still "Andre"…

"Alright then. What are you doing here, little man? Aren't you usually here with your little girlfriend, Eliza?"

"Girlfriend? She's not my girlfriend, man! We're really good friends, though!" Charlie corrected me.

I did remember the girl saying otherwise in a really odd way, as in apparently the relationship is a secret to the boy. But by experience, little princess types tend to be a tad delusional with their candy-coated views on the world. Makes me relieved I was never like that at that age, but I still had a few issues.

"Besides, she's with Denny to learn some fishing, man! She heard Lanna likes it too, so she wanted to get into it like she does! You know how girls are trying to be like the grown-ups they really like, man!"

"And what about you? Is there someone you want to grow up to be like?" I asked him.

Charlie shrugged.

"I guess my Dad, a little. He's a cool grown-up, but I really wanna grow up to be my own kind of grown-up, you know what I mean, man?"

I have to admit, this kid's pretty cool with that kind of outlook. Though I guess with Lanna being a teen idol and Eliza thinking she's queen of the island, I can understand why the little one would want to emulate Lolita woman. I went the opposite route, though: I wanted to grow up to be a stronger version of brother, and got way in over my head somewhere along the way. Again, you gotta admire the kid's early sense of independence.

"Hey, Charlie!"

I looked over yonder sands to see a girl with curly blonde hair waving frantically at my little friend. It just so happened to be Eliza.

"Mr. Denny's done teaching me fishing for today! You wanna go play in the waves?" she asked Charlie.

"Hey, aren't you worried about your frilly dress?" he asked back.

"But playing around in the water is fun! Besides, I'm a princess! Princesses don't get messed up by splashing around in the water, silly!" she giggled.

Wait, what?

I was about to open my mouth due to being completely dumbfounded by that questionable statement, but Charlie decided to cut me off casually.

"Oh, okay. Let's go then!" he cried without flinching an inch.

He's either as gullible as you can expect for someone that age, or he's just that good at playing it cool. Either way, the kid surprised me.

The two children ran towards the shallow area and started splashing water around to their heart's delight. I decided to go off towards the seaweed rock to see if I can finally make a dent out of the thing, but then---

"Yo! Since I'm free now, how about a fishing session with me?!" another voice called out.

This guy was further off into the distance, right at the pier, but man could the guy project.

I could still get a good glimpse of him though: tanned skin, wavy dark brown hair, some white and brownish islander clothes and… oh geez, a shiny purple headband that could be spotted for miles.

I don't really talk to the guy much, but I know for sure that he's Denny, the island's local fishmonger. The guy's real name is Danny, but apparently his cooking reputation earned him a rather restaurant-like nickname.

"Uh… I got some training to take care of today and---"

"Then perfect! Let's make fishing part of your training!" he shouted.

I sighed, thinking just how stupid that sounded, but a strong sense of déjà vu told me he's going to be persistent, which is why I dragged my unwilling self over to where he was.

"Alright, glad you decided to join!" he said in a softer voice at close range, though still sounded pretty upbeat.

"It was past experience that made me come… or something like that. Don't flatter yourself." I groaned.

"Good! Then you have a hunch how good this might be for you?" He asked with his cheery mood persistently intact.

"…No."

"Then it's time the master makes it clear to you." He smirked with a wink.

Yeah, there's something awfully familiar about this guy, and the bandanna seems to tip it off.

"Did you, um, at least bring your fishing pole?" he asked me suddenly.

Swiftly, I reached into my rucksack and thrust out the darn thing right in front of his face.

"Yes, yes I did. And if I didn't, I would think you'd hound me all the way home to get it unless you had---"

"A spare?" he said cutting me off with his smartass grin showing up along with another fishing pole in his other hand. "Well, how did you think I was teaching Eliza? With imaginary fishing poles?"

"That sounds about right" I remarked.

"Ah, good! So Chelsea actually has a sense of humor after all!" he said while chuckling up a storm.

Okay, now replace "Chelsea" with my real name, and I could have sworn I've heard that very phrase word for word. Who the hell was this guy?

"I'll be fine with my own, thanks." I told him.

"Okay, now that we've settled that, let the training begin!"

"Yeah, about that--- how in the world will this help with my training?" I questioned him.

"Hey, a martial artist can learn many virtues through unexpected tasks, right? "Wax on and wax off, do the laundry---"

"I don't think doing laundry makes an effective training regiment, either---"

"Hey, you doubted the prowess of fishing, right? If you gave farming as a chance for physical labor, why can't you apply that flexible thinking on fishing? Now just trust me on this, okay Chelsea?"

I'm surprised he didn't lose it trying to argue with me. Come to think of it, I'm surprised Kat could always propose the stupidest things with a straight fa----

Oh…

"Fine, fine. What will fishing help me work on, Master?" I asked, deciding to play along.

"Patience" He replied simply.

"…Patience?"

He nodded.

"Yes. Patience. It's a fundamental of fishing, don't you know? You have to be really quiet, sense the fish through your rod, and when you get a bite, pull! See, you'll get your workout when you get a bite, especially if it's a big one, or a small one that puts up a big fight!" he explained to me.

"Wouldn't you be mad if you caught some guppy that made you thought it was a whopper?" I asked him.

" No, not really" he shrugged, "I see those kinds of fish like the valiant underdog that won't give up; a proud warrior that can really put up a fight despite its relative size. C'mon, Chelsea! You're a fighter, too! I'm sure you can relate to that kind of sentiment!" he answered me eagerly.

Okay, fine. I guess he has a point in that. I mean, I was pretty much the youngest participant in the tournament, though I got my hide handed to me in the Quarter Finals. Despite being such a prick, "Andre" somehow managed to make some fans along the way.

Though I understood, I could only reply with an exasperated sigh, being the kind of person I am.

"Okay! So first, we cast our line." He instructed calmly.

So I did what I was told, which was simple enough.

"Now what?" I asked him.

"Now… we wait."

"What, just wait? I thought you were going to show me some special technique with the lure or something." I complained.

"Nope. We just wait. The bait will work its magic just fine on its own." He insisted.

And so I waited.

For an hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

…

Wait, did the sky just get darker?

"Hey! What's up?!?!" I roared.

Denny merely shushed me.

"Are you sure there's actually any fish out there?" I barked, pointing at the ocean as if I was some evil monkey.

"Yes, they can just feel your tense presence." He told me calmly.

"What about you? I didn't see you catch anything!"

"Ah, but I will! …Eventually." He smirked.

"Oh, come on! Don't go "Captain Procrastination" on me!"

And then Denny laughed, like he knew what was going on the whole time.

"I already told you, Chelsea: It's all about patience."

"Well I'm about to lose mine." I fussed.

"Trust me: the fish are there. You just have to wait it out and feel for them." He assured me.

"Oh yeah?"

And with that, I belted out the craziest yell my lungs could allow. I sure as hell didn't see any water ripples of fish fleeing the scene.

"How about that?" I crowed in triumph.

"Ah, but now they caught onto your tactics. Of course they're not going to show themselves out in the open. Give it some more time." He told me rationally.

I shot him one violent glare while feeling super pissed. And then…

I gave in and sat down again.

I honestly don't know how in the world he has this kind of hold over me. He and Kat both.

Then he laughed again, this time in an uproar. Apparently my anger is like a comedy show for him.

"Oh man! I think I've seen that kind of death glare before! You're a lot like my pal, Vaughn, actually!" he told me.

"Who?"

"You know, Vaughn. Really, you've been here for awhile, but you've yet to come face to face with the guy? I know he only comes here around Wednesdays and Thursdays, but you had at least a few weeks to catch up with him and---"

"Not interested." I said, cutting him off.

And again, that accursed smirk shows up on his face.

"Yeah, he said the same thing, actually. Though he added in a few disparaging words about the farm. I bet he's checking it out while you're away on training huh? That's unusually sneaky of him." He said while nodding his head curiously.

Just. Great.

Not only might there be a figurative male clone of me with farming issues running around on the island on a few choice days of the week, he also might secretly be a semi-stalker as well?

It's times like this I wish I stayed at the café. Chief is the only like-minded guy I can really handle at the moment…

"Let's just get back to fishing, alright? No more talking about Mr. Flan."

"It's Vaughn, and I get it." He said with a wink.

A few more hours later, I started seeing the moon.

Aside from that, Denny handed my ass to me in fishing up a storm by catching a dozen, while I caught both a small one and fairly big one. It was awkward how both my fish gave me an equally challenging fight.

"Now have I shown you the power of patience?" he asked me with a triumphant look on his face.

I breathed in, and sighed out heavily.

"Yes… Master…" I groaned.

"Good. Now then, I'd like you to join me on a few more fishing sessions in the future so you can work out your patience. And if you can apply that state of mind during a sparring match, you just might--- hey, I just noticed…"

I didn't like the sudden change of direction this conversation could be heading.

"Yeah?" I asked reluctantly.

"You're wearing a bandana on your head, too, aren't you?" he suddenly pointed out.

"Yes, I am. And you're wearing a cheeky black bird on your head, but I decided to be polite and not bring it up in case that was a hallucination or something." I replied.

I really didn't feel like bringing up that black bird until now because I had a feeling showing any ounce of attention towards its creepy expressions might have slowly driven me insane.

"Oh, you noticed the little guy? Don't worry, he's no hallucination, he's just… a tad mischievous like that. But yeah, it's nice to find a fellow lover of the bandana!" he told me with a thumbs up.

Great. Now the Kat vibes have been turned up to the max here.

"N-no, it's not what you think. A crazy friend of mine gave me this stupid "friendship bandanna" and---"

"Friendship bandana? That's new. And I must say that you have a great taste in friends." He told me with approval.

"You'd say that now that the subject at hand was brought up, wouldn't you?"

Yeah, this guy is practically a male Kat, through and through. Their hobbies just need to match up and I'd suspect they were fraternal twins separated at birth.

"Of course! And I'm sure that with a friend like that, you would know by now the magic of the headwear that is the bandanna! It keeps your head covered from drizzles or intense sunlight, it's fashionable, and it brings you one step closer to being a proper sea-fearing pirate!"

"I doubt a bandana would feel all that great if someone dipped your head in the water, or you faced some sort of monsoon. Then it would just be extra weight," I refuted.

"Extra weight that one wears with dignity!" he argued illogically.

"…What?"

"Face it. I haven't seen you without that red bandana since you got here, huh?"

Well, I admit I was a little afraid someone might find recognize me without the thing. Then again, this is pretty much a paper-thin disguise, isn't it?

"N-no.." I barely managed.

"Then that bandana has become apart of you. Much like my bandana has become part of me. It's extension of my being, like the fishing pole when I use it to reel in fish. It's all interconnected, don't you see?" he lectured me.

And now I feel like the personalities of Kat and Chief have joined together to give me one big mesh of nonsense. This may not end well…

"What are you talking about?" I asked while cocking my eyebrow.

"And your bandana comes with an added bonus of sentiment, might I add," He continued, deciding to ignore my attempt to question his logic, "It has your friend's heart and encouragement residing within in. I'm sure at this moment of being away from her, that very bandana must fill you with more strength and resolve?"

And I froze.

I regret feeling it, but his insanity started to make some sense all of a sudden.

"Y-yeah…"

"Good. If there's anything more important than everything else out there, it's the bonds that tie together; that kind of friendship that you know will help you grow each and every day. I'm just glad you're willing to treasure something like that, even if you can't quite admit it to yourself." He told me.

This time, that smile of his looked much less smarmy and much more… well, inspiring.

Maybe the guy's pretty wise about things other than fishing after all. And I guess Kat's done her share of showing me the ropes of life, too. It's really crazy running into Kat's Male, Fish-loving counterpart on this island of all places.

"Hey, I'm not so proud to think something like friendship is worthless. I just think placing sentiment on something like a bandana is just plain stupid. Especially of the friend in question's a bit of a goofball." I stated.

I think I just indirectly insulted Denny in the process.

"Nah. It's alright. But hey, since we're done here, how about you take the rest of the day off and meet with some more friends of yours? I could rant all day about the awesomeness of the bandana, but first and foremost, you're my pupil in fishing and patience. And I really need to prep you for your next few lessons." He told me.

Wow, he was just going to let me go just like that? It felt so abrupt, yet I assume he must have his reasons.

"You just remembered you have a date with Lanna tonight, didn't you?" I asked.

One awkward facial on his face, and bingo! I finally hit the mark!

"Y-yeah. So come on! Off you go! Master Denny will have his next lesson prepped and ready for you in the coming day or so! Ciao!" he told me, shooing me off.

"What happened to friendship?" I asked him coyly.

"This in no way means I'm placing you lower down the totem pole of importance, my dear pupil! We're still going to spend as much time as we can, when we can, got it?" he told me with a thumbs up.

My face didn't budge from its stoic expression, but I gave the thumbs up and a silent nod in return.

And since he gave me the opportunity, I took the chance to make a tactical retreat, but not before he gave me the obligatory goodbye wave.

" 'Till next time, my pupil!" he cried.

"Yeah, sure!" I cried back as I made me way past the beach.

Well, if there's anything I learned from this encounter, it's that a Male Kat can be just as exhausting as the original.

That, and there's no way in hell I'd want to meet this "Flan" guy he brought up…

* * *

**Up next is Fla--- er, Vaughn…**


	3. Wrath of the Vaughn Bon

There was an odd activity Chief and I indulged in every once in awhile.

In the back room, or when there weren't that many customers,

We'd choose a table, bring along our choice in beverages, and take our seats.

Then we'd just sit there and sort of stare blankly at things quietly.

Not a noise was made between us except the subtle breaths of inhaling and exhaling.

And we'd go at this for awhile without exchanging a single word.

Of course, we were interrupted once…

"_Okay, honestly. This is your idea of fun between you two guys?" _a fellow employee asked us.

Then Chief sat upright, not deterred at all, and would simply reply:

"_Yeah, and what about it? This really isn't your place to judge our choice of activities."_

He then sipped his cup of tea, and I sipped my cocoa, and then my co-worker would groan and go about her business.

The co-worker in question was Robyn. She wore glasses and had her brunette hair in braids.

From what I understood, she was a major fan girl of eastern-based media, something of a self-proclaimed "Otaku", whatever that meant. She's also an aspiring romance author, and, if I heard right, apparently does some spare modeling on the side where she takes off the glasses and lets her hair down.

She's actually a pretty good writer. Too bad most of her stories so far are about obscure fandoms I've never even heard of, and she just started urging herself in the original fiction scene. To be honest, her "fangirl-ness" scares me from time to time, but she's a reliable friend and coworker.

Still, I'd have to say those times of getting to be some silent nut job alongside Chief were some of my favorite times.

He may be a loud-mouthed weirdo most of the time, but when he decides to go strong and silent all of a sudden, I can really feel for the guy…

* * *

**3rd Memory: Wrath of the Vaughn Bon**

I did my usual rounds with the farm again: water the plants, feed the chickens, gather the eggs, and bash the crap out of field degree as much as I could.

After a hard morning's work, I felt like meeting up with a new friend of mine that moved in a little while ago just to talk. I headed out of the farm and towards Eastern islands until I bumped into someone along the way.

No, sadly, it wasn't Natalie. And I actually, literally, bumped into the person. And that person was- some weirdo I don't even recognize.

"Watch where you're going." He huffed.

Great, the first thing that comes out of the guy's mouth is unpleasant stock dialogue you could hear in any TV show.

"What about you? You're the moronic brick who decided to make himself a living road block! Maybe do more time moving and less time just standing there like some gawdy-looking dear in headlights?" I shouted.

True, the guy seemed like he was trying to hard to fit the farming scene: he had big, black cowboy hat, a huge white neck bandana, a brown rodeo vest and a pair of boots John Wayne himself would be proud of. With everything else rounded out by black wardrobe and brown belts, was he TRYING to evoke the sense of some idiot bad boy?

Then there was the silver hair and narrow, violet eyes. If anything, that nasty expression on his face practically screamed "douche bag" to me.

Not cool at all.

"That doesn't give you the excuse to ram into me like some blind bat." He grumbled.

"I think a dozen or so bats could crash into you just by standing in the middle of a road. I bet anything a MOOSE couldn't miss you, either, blockhead!" I scoffed.

The jerk glared daggers at me, but then suddenly appeared to scan my conspicuously. For some reason, his attention was fixated mostly on my head.

"Hold on there a moment, a red bandana? Does this mean you're the farmer around here?" he asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked defiantly.

Suddenly, he clenched a fist, and his eyes suddenly became ten times more unpleasant.

"Damn it… So all this irresponsibility with the farm was YOUR fault." He roared while pointing at me with the authority of an uncanny douche bag.

"W-what?"

"You heard me! What the hell are you doing keeping your chickens in a coop as tight-for-space as that? Even when you find the intelligence to let them out every once in a while, do you realize how long you leave them outside? And without a pen to keep them bordered? Do you have any idea what kind of wild dogs run around at night? Those things would tear apart anything that crossed their path, and your farm just happens to be one of their favorite stops since it was abandoned!" he yelled.

While his sudden ranting spree of authority started to piss me off even further, I just had a sudden jolt of realization.

Didn't Denny tell me about a friend of his who was supposed to be some animal exporter or something that came on these days?

If so, then that would mean-

"YOU'RE that Flan guy?" I cried out.

"My name… is VAUGHN!" he corrected with a vengeance.

"Yeah, whatever. Look, if you know about the wild dogs running around the island, wouldn't it be your job to tame those things and ship them off to some rich snobs in Monaco who love that sort of thing? It sounds an awful lot like your job description, and if you're not doing it properly, perhaps you really wanted the dogs to eat my chickens?" I argued bitterly.

I'm not really much of a fan of chickens, but I figured that once I could finally get out of here, maybe I could give a healthy one to Chief as a welcome back souvenir? He happens to be a big chicken fanatic that never got the chance to raise one for himself, so this turned out really convenient.

"Hmph, only some rank amateur would try to pin the blame on someone who bears no responsibility whatsoever." He scoffed.

"I couldn't agree more." I remarked back while glaring accusingly at him.

At that moment, the two of us engaged in one epic showdown of a staring contest. For awhile, it seemed like neither of us would back down and avert our gazes… until I remembered the good old days with Chief. It was at that time that I realized there was no way for me to get some satisfaction out of this: the guy's eyes looked were far too angry.

"Whatever, I don't have time for this." I finally spoke up, deciding to head straight for Julia's place out of impulse.

I really didn't feel like visiting my new friend with this pent up frustration. And luckily, the rancher guy didn't feel like wanting a piece of me for the moment and just sulked away quietly. If there's anything I've learned in the past, is that terrible things tend to happen when I get mad.

"Ah, so I've seen you've met Vaughn just now?" Julia said when I just came in.

"Yeah, I just ran into the guy before I got here, why?" I asked, not really feeling up to discussing the guy who just may be working with rabies-infested animals.

"He did just leave here not too long ago, and you shortly arrived afterwards. I figured the two of you would finally meet." She explained.

"That young man is like family to us. Please forgive his rudeness, his job and everything about it means an awful lot to him." Her mother Mirabelle explained.

I could definitely see the family and resemblance, and I can certainly see where Julia gets zest for life from. I get the feeling Mirabelle must make one awesome Mom for her to take after her so openly.

"I'd probably forgive him more if he showed more tact. The guy's flippin' ruthless…" I grumbled.

"It takes some time, but he's really decent once you get to know him" Mirabelle insisted.

"That's what they all say…" I muttered under breathe.

"Hey, if you don't believe us, you can talk to Sabrina over it. I heard he's been spending some time with her every chance he can get, and she's been pretty keen to his every visit." Julia teased.

Hold on, what? Sabrina?

She of all people has something to do with that guy?

"What, so the guy's secretly a romantic or something?" I asked bluntly.

"I'm not sure, but from what I could gather, he cares about her. He certainly worries about her. For one thing, there was the time that I swear I saw him accompany him home because she felt a little ill. Sweetest thing he's ever done, if I do say so myself." Julia said proudly.

It was then that I left the place without saying a word.

I'm sorry; Julia, but this really concerned me at the moment.

What does a high-class lady want with a ruffian like him, anyway?

I mean, the guy's hardly in any position to provide for a potential spouse like that with the crazy profession like that. The only other logic would be if she actually went for those kind of looks.

This hardly adds up at all!

But thinking back, I felt like I took yet another subtle jab at myself.

…

No matter. I can't just leave it at that.

Because Julia decided to bring it up, I had to clear things up once and for all.

There's just no way could those two actually...

* * *

_**Up Next is Sabrina.**_


	4. Her Mistress' Dance

"_Thanks for helping out again! I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to finish up."_

"_It's alright. You're the new girl here, so I thought it wouldn't hurt aiding in cleaning duty. I'm sure Chief didn't mean to leave it to you all of a sudden, but he found himself in a rush at the last minute. I'm sure this is what he wanted, really."_

"_Y-you're too kind…"_

"_No, really. I just get a good feeling that's the kind of guy he is. And if he wasn't, I'd still be here anyway."_

"_Still, I'm glad that you wanted to help out. And all of you guys at the Bed of Roses Café, really. I feel like I have another family to grow up with here, and, I guess you're like another big sister to me."_

"_What? That's- no, that's because I've been here just a tad longer than you have. You're really, what, two, maybe three years older than me? You just happen to be a little on the short side, too."_

"_But all of you have been looking out for me since I got this job, I'm just so grateful for it. I really want to be able to pay all of you guys back someday…"_

"_Then just keep working like your usual yourself. I see you've done a great job meeting the customers and making business boom here. You're definitely better at making small talk with people than I do…"_

"_But you have such interesting stories! I can already tell you've been through a lot, and you've done some growing up because it! You may be younger, but I feel like somehow that you're just… more grown-up then I am…"_

"_Trust me. If this is what it means to grow up, then growing up sucks big time…"_

Lucy.

She was the last girl Chief hired before I decided to take this trip.

She seemed so naïve, yet so worldly at the same time.

As much of the "girl next door" impression she gave off, she always felt like the most mysterious of our little group.

She barely said anything about her past, her financial status, or her family, but she was always more than willing to engage others about their own daily lives despite her initial shyness.

In an odd way, I think that made her the right kind of girl for business:

Distant enough so as not to cause a distraction, but open enough to make friendly relations.

I think I understood why Chief was quick to hire her despite some doubts.

With the nice way she was dressed in the interview, it was real amusing making a joke about it being Chief's first date and everything.

Though it wasn't much of a joke that he ended up having feelings for her.

I wonder if Chief ever took the chance to saying anything about it to her while I'm away…

* * *

**4th Memory: Her Mistress' Dance**

* * *

Making my way towards the eastern island region, I passed by a couple of buildings, including a colorful purple-ish one belonging to one Pierre Gourmet of the illustrious Gourmet Dynasty. They're not royalty of the literal sense, but apparently they have a longstanding tradition of being cooks and connoisseurs.

Aside from that that, there was also a chance that something of a spark was developing between Natalie and this guy.

Now, the guy was something of a shrimp. If you got a good look at him, you'd think he was the same age as Charlie and Eliza, but the truth is he's a dwarf or something. He's much older than his appearance. So to the naked eye, it might seem like Natalie's some sort of sick pedophile, but in an awkward sense, their relationship is perfectly fine and legal. And if he's not really a dwarf and just severely underdeveloped, maybe he'll grow out of his midget form.

Still, I can't help but find their possible relationship anywhere near as jarring as Sabrina and that rancher guy.

I don't see how Flan would easily soften up just for one girl if he's even gruff with people who think of him like family.

If anything, wouldn't that rancher freak bark at a rich girl like her for being too spoiled and crap and not caring enough about whales and bloodthirsty wolves like the half-hippie that he is?

It didn't take too long for me to reach the doorway of the island's one and only manor. I stepped inside to face the mini-maze the crazy walls and maneuvered myself through the corridors. Of course, I had to deal with one grating voice like usual before making it to my destination.

"Ah, so it's you again, Chelsea dear! You dare come to distract my darling daughter again and-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can it, Snidely Whiplash." I groaned.

The former was the voice of Regis, father of Sabrina, and proud owner of some mining company. He really does look and sound like some cheesy cartoon villain, and I swear he sounds exactly like Snidely Whiplash.

Luckily for me, he has yet to actually carry out his threats. Since I'm sure that I have yet to do anything deserving said threats, he better not act on them.

A few steps later, and I finally came face to face with the big girl herself.

"Hey." I greeted casually.

"Oh, Chelsea! Good Morning!" she greeted back cheerfully.

It turned out in the grand scheme of things that I ended up meeting with my new friend after all.

"I was a little concerned that you were running late, but I'm glad you're okay. Did something happen?"

"Not really. Just some minor problem that got in the way for a bit, but I managed," I told her as I remembered that cowboy's annoying glare. "Sorry I couldn't make it to the mines the other night. I was busy with something else…"

"That's alright. That amethyst you got the other day was an interesting enough subject of its own to study thoroughly."

You'd think a girl of her status would love gemstones to pretty herself up with, but instead she just sticks with modest clothing. She has on this fuzzy pink jacket and a purple plaid dress. And I bet anything she could have just afforded some quality laser surgery, or some flashy contacts, but instead she stuck with round glasses. Robyn once told me there are groups of people out there with a fetish for glasses, but I don't think Sabrina really uses this as a form of appeal. If anything, she reminds me of the unfortunate, nerdy, bookish types who are stuck with those things without any other option to deal with it.

And her love gemstones really did add to her bookishness. She has more of an intellectual interest in the things, like being able to appraise them and stuff. She actually showed me a collection of not-so-valuable stones and colored glass, but she had to keep it a secret from her dad because apparently it was part of some useless sentiment shtick that would prove bad for business.

I imagine having Snidely Whiplash as a father must really suck for her.

"That's good. Didn't know there's so much to do with these shiny rocks other than wearing them or selling them. Of course, I'd be one of the later crowd, but since you have other uses for them-"

"Right," cut in with a nod.

She wouldn't normally cut in so casually like that in a conversation, but I got the feeling we cut past a few formality barriers after becoming fast friends.

"So, how about on your end? Got any records to take care of still? Your dad still being an ass?" I asked.

"I wouldn't exactly apply such a harsh term to my father, but yes, he is still a little rough on me, though he means well. And don't worry about the records; I took care of them early in anticipation of your arrival. Actually, I was looking forward to introducing you to an acquaintance of mine." She explained.

By "acquaintance", I assumed she means "friend". Well, that was good. I was starting to worry I was probably the only one around here giving her some real company. Most of the time I've seen her on her free time, I don't really see anyone willing to share a table with her at any of the eateries, and I swear I'm the only one not living in this overblown manor that bother to come.

"Um, alright. That's cool, I guess." I shrugged.

Somewhere in the back of my head, I thought that maybe I could have sound a little more excited, but I just wasn't. It would help if I was more enthusiastic in meeting new people in general, but that's not really how I roll.

"He isn't too much with words, to be honest. Actually, I notice you actually have a few things in common with him, so there's a decent chance you two might get along." She told me in a fairly optimistic voice.

Wait, _him?_

That reminded me. Julia said that bastard cowboy was interested in Sabrina, right? And I was just about to come in and ask what kind of sick crap he might be up to until Mr. Whiplash himself cut off my train of thought.

"I was a bit surprised to hear you haven't even met him yet. He's been coming here just a few select days every week, and you've even been here some time before Father and I moved here. His name's Vaughn; he's an exotic animal exporter and he stays at the barn with Ms. Mirabelle and Julia."

Okay, that was definitely it… I think.

"Hold on, does this guy have silver hair and runs around in a goofy western outfit?" I asked her.

"Oh, I see! So you have seen-"

"So it's true then? Alright, what's that guy been doing around here? How does he know you? Heck, how do you know that guy? WHY do you know that guy?"

I've really been going into rapid fire with the questions, yet the slightly startled Sabrina's thoughts caught up with just as fast.

"Oh, right. I was just feeling under the weather one day and he noticed. I admit, he looked a tad suspicious at first with that look in his eyes, but was really concerned about me. He even offered to escort me into the home. I was just lucky that father was busy with the mine at the time…" she explained to me.

That certainly sounded suspicious to me. Some prick like him decided to play it nice with a rich girl like Sabrina? Sounds like the guy's willing to play the field when there's something of value to gain…

Pretty smooth of him, that damn player.

"You should stick with that first hunch." I barked.

"Huh?"

Unfortunately, Sabrina started looking at me like I'd started losing it. I'd actually know when that was happening, and trust me, I really wasn't feeling the insanity right at the moment.

"Come on, an arrogant punk like him runs around without giving a damn for everyone else deciding to be chivalrous towards the one girl in town who lives in her own villa? Sounds pretty shady to me. Like maybe he'll be expecting some compensation?"

"Chelsea…"

"Look, I admire your trusting attitude, but there are times where so flipping obvious you shouldn't trust a guy. This is one of those times. I bet he just keeps coming back here just to see how far he can go to gain your trust before he can take you for all your worth. There are assholes like that all over where I used to live. You just can't let them take advantage of you."

"Chelsea-"

"Please, just cut this guy off! I don't like the feeling I'm getting from him. Just let me deal with him and I'm sure things will be fine. It's Flan, right? I'm gonna make sure he pays for toying with your feelings and-"

"CHELSEA!"

I didn't really notice until just that moment, but each time she called my name, she was actually sounded louder and more frustrated. When I got a good look at her, she didn't look too happy either. Actually, almost look outright pissed while she was looking me in the eyes.

She decided to take a breath to calm down, but then she turned her head and diverted her glance. She was either ashamed, or she was trying to control her anger with me.

"You're… starting to sound like Father…" she huffed.

What? Me and Snidely Whiplash? First she compares me to some douchebag cowboy named after a creamy dessert, and now I'm talking like her dear old dad?

I really must have been screwing up here.

"Sabrina, please. I'm trying to look out for you…" I told her gently.

"I know that, and I'm really grateful, but… you don't get it. I would have thought you'd understand, of all people, how hard he really has it. I don't even think he has it in him to know to take advantage of anyone when he tries so hard to isolate himself." She explained to me.

I started balling my right hand into a fist when I realized a sob story was in the works.

But one about him?

And one that started to sound so damn familiar to me?

"He's had his share of family troubles as well. And there may even be a chance that some of his more familiar relatives have passed on. But I can't honestly say he's been taking advantage of me with this knowledge. It was Julia who told me everything…" she continued.

Even if that was true, that bastard wouldn't know anything about what I went through.

And if it weren't for Sabrina's involvement in all of this, I might have claimed I used to be a worse prick than him because of it.

"Even so, that's not a good enough reason for me to trust him. We've all got hell to go through. It doesn't automatically make us better people by suffering." I answered, "The point is, I heard from Julia that there might be something serious going on between you. Is this true? Do you actually have and feelings?"

For one split second, that girl looked hesitant, but then most of her insecurity faded away and she looked unusually sure of herself.

"I just might." She answered, "At the very least, I appreciate what he's done for me. And if he feels the same, I might come to accept them."

Her words were as vague as hell, but her tone of voice was pretty damn confident.

"And I was serious when I voiced my hunch about you two being alike. You both share plenty of good qualities. I'd hope the two of you could bond over them." She confessed.

"Well, he wasn't very happy meeting me, either." I huffed.

Yeah, it was more like a thing of mutual hatred than the start of brotherly love coming from that guy.

"I see. I guess those stubborn streaks would get in the way…" Sabrina said aloud.

"What?" I growled.

"I'm… just saying. That's all." Sabrina sighed sheepishly.

I really didn't mean to scare her, but I have a hard time taking kindly to hearing side comments about my issues.

"It sounds like you got on the wrong foot with him the first time. I really wish I could get you two to get along, but can you please just trust him in my company? I swear he really has no ill intentions." She pleaded.

"Sabrina, you can't honestly expect everyone in the world to be able to get along with everyone else… but fine. If you really think he's such a nice guy and all that, you can keep talking to him." I reluctantly agreed to, "But if you find just one good sign that he's faking everything, kick his ass to the curb and let me handle the rest!"

"Chelsea…" she groaned.

"Hey, I'm agreeing to let you still meet with that guy, right?"

I looked at my friend's face and noticed she was still very much disappointed with the way I've been acting. And I really didn't like it. She's probably one of the loneliest people on the island, and seeing her upset didn't sit well with me.

"Look, Sabrina…. I just don't want to see you get hurt, alright? You really know how to calm things down when we talk together, and I really like that. And you're really kind like that. Of all people, you don't deserve to get hurt. I'm sure of it." I told her.

It was probably really weird for me to come off so sappy like that, but was always easy to open up to her for some reason. I guess it was because she was so earnest when it came to taking care of her friends.

It kind of sounds like another soft spoken fluff ball I worked with back at the café.

"Thank you… so much…" Sabrina answered as she was bowing her head, "But you must realize that he's trying to look out for me in his own way, too."

She was really persistent in her whole "Trust the douchey cowboy" campaign huh?

I just sighed there. I doubt I could trust the guy as far as I could throw him. And I think I've got the strength in me to give him a good toss. But Sabrina sounds like she has it pretty bad for him. I guess there's got to be some legitimate reason for it. She's a girl of logic, after all…

"Just… please watch out for yourself, okay?" I insisted.

"Don't worry. Should the need arise, I can take care of myself just fine." She told me with a bright smile.

I just really hope this doesn't lead down the path of heartbreak for her.

In some crazy sense, I got my first good taste of the bitter stuff. And it was thanks to my big brother leaving me behind when he was the closest family I ever had.

I swore I would never allow her to be hurt just as deeply.

If anyone dared to put her through that crap, I would make them pay dearly…

* * *

**Up next:**

**Pierre, With with a side order of Vaughn.**


	5. Carrot Cake With Frosting

Note: The Following Chapter is a Parody of an infamous cartoon episode. Identifying said cartoon, however, would be a major spoiler.

* * *

"_Carrots are one of the worst vegetables on the planet, if you ask me! They're so disgustingly bland! And I don't give that crap about hurting the feelings of carrots! Would you be delighted at the thought of having your very flesh torn bite by bite? I don't think so! Carrots are for the bunnies, I say!"_

"_What about carrot cake?"_

"_Oh, that? Well, carrot cake is fine, actually. I actually rather like it. But if it comes to orange foods, I'd prefer Pumpkin Pie."_

Chief was never a fan of carrots, and frankly, neither was I.

He always liked tomatoes, though. But only if they were raw.

But Broccoli?

I think that's some universally hated stuff when eaten raw and plain…

* * *

**Carrot Cake With Frosting**

* * *

I believe I remember bringing up Pierre earlier, but it probably wasn't enough detail to warrant him as someone important.

Let me rectify the situation.

How can I describe the guy?

Anyone sharp with American Pop Culture would probably get the right image if I were describe him as some sort of blonde midget Willy Wonka.

If you have no idea what means, well, Pierre dresses up in a purple suit and top hat, much like the aforementioned head of his own chocolate factory. And he's short. Not only is he short, he looks a little boy.

But he's legitimately legal. I was skeptical at first, but I saw his birth certificate and everything. I even called the Gourmet Family to check it out , and they were in laugh riot over it..

Why am I bringing up Pierre again?

He actually asked me to do something for him.

"Door to door desserts!" he proposed to me.

"Wait, really?" I asked him.

"Yes! And since I've heard you used to work at a café, I'd think you'd know some of the pitches to pull off! No door slamming for us, I say!" Pierre declared.

"Pierre, I was a waitress and bouncer, not an advertisement genius. If you asked me to be your bodyguard and beat the living tar out of possible thieves, then I can guarantee you quality service, but I can't say I can make your desserts seem any better than they are. But consider yourself lucky you live in this sort of community: I don't think any of these guys are rude enough to slam the door in your face for a dessert made by an heir of Gourmet."

"There may be one…" Pierre uttered in a foreboding tone.

"And who would that be? Gannon? Shea? Regis? Natalie? The Witch Princess? I can throw out names all day." I groaned.

"It doesn't matter now! Now that I have you at my side, we can do this without fear!" Pierre proclaimed proudly.

And yet, with all of this going on, I conveniently forgot that he hadn't mentioned what exactly he was selling.

"By the way, what sort of stuff ARE we soliciting? Is it legal?" I asked.

Pierre let out a childish chuckle. It was a chuckle so childish that it made his stature seem relatively mature. Yeah, hard to believe, I know.

"Silly Chelsea and your silly jokes! Of course not! What we're going out to sell door-to-door… is CARROT CAKE!"

With his announcement, he whipped out a white box of the stuff. It was orangey-brown, and certainly cake-shaped. And it smelled it like a sweet cake. So he clearly wasn't telling a lie, unless this cake was laced with something, but I don't think that's how the Gourmet Dynasty works if they've lasted for so long without some sort of scandal tied to them.

"Ah, so the issue here is the carrot! But this stuff actually smells pretty good! I figure it must taste good, too. Still… Charlie? Eliza? Lanna? Gannon? Natalie?"

I figured SOMEONE on this island must hate carrots or something to put Pierre in such a panic.

"Enough of the name game for now, Chelsea! Off we go!" He cried.

So then the jovial midget took some stacks of boxed carrot cake and placed it on a red tow cart that he attempted to drag on his own. Apparently, his miniscule size couldn't even handle the weight of dozens and dozens of light, fluffy, cake slices, so I decided to take up the task myself. Luckily, the light, fluffy, cake slices really WERE light to me, so I managed well. I was a little worried I might be using up strength in some subtle way that may leave me off-balance in case I do have to protect Pierre from something, but I decided to just wing it. Personally, I think this is the sort of thing that could use some montage music.

We went around town with the cakes in tow, starting with Lanna the songstress, since she was close. Luckily, she had the common sense to know the difference between raw carrots and carrot cake, and was actually excited to see us carrying the stuff. I'd figure a "Sweet Lolita" type like her would have to know her desserts to some degree. After sampling the cake and buying a few slices, she pat Pierre's head and gave me a friendly hug and a cheerful wave goodbye.

After understanding why Denny likes her a little more, I headed off towards Regis' manor. Being the abrasive vampire/businessman that he was, Snidely Whiplash immediately slammed the door in our faces, muttering some very ugly things about "solicitors". Luckily for us, Sabrina came in a moment later and apologized for her father's actions and decided to make a tea party out of the spectacle. We all had some cake and chamomile tea, and while Pierre insisted the slices wouldn't be too much trouble, Sabrina insisted that she paid for the ones we ate anyway, then bought a few more for herself and her sinister dad. Somehow, we took off with little conflict incited thanks to Sabrina's careful maneuvering, and we took off to the main residential/business area.

It was then that I felt like the two of us were ice cream guys. We meant to hit up each house one at a time, but our little business somehow called in the attention of everyone in the area.

Charlie and Eliza looked pretty excited for some cake sampling, and were pretty surprised to find out about the carrot part. This sort of left Eliza in denial for awhile. Chen was more than glad to buy a few slices for his son and himself, while Gannon was actually alright with sweet stuff and bought a few for his recovering daughter.

Thanks to Felicia, the whole thing became something of a second tea party for us outside, and complimented on a few specifics of the cake that only Pierre really understood. Speaking of the runt, apparently Natalie was making googly eyes at him every chance those two locked looks. Now I know who that girl had the hots for, but I'm not sure how Elliot will take this. I mean, I suppose he could pull off the whole "protective big brother" routine" with the not-so-intimidating Pierre and everything, but considering how she usually treats him, and how Elliot's this upstanding guy that anyone would like to pick on, I'm not sure he'd even go that route. At least he enjoyed the cake, too. But apparently, the one guy to pay for the family's share of cake is the balding grandpa, Taro, who was apparently clothed in what he himself described as the "traditional attire of the legendary farmers", whoever they were. One would make me assume this Mark character may actually arrive on the scene with clothes like those if he followed those kind of conventions.

There's not much to say about Julia and Mirabelle except that they were having the time of their lives, too. Then again, Julia did take this opportunity to spend more quality time with Elliot, and Mirabelle did mention a few things about how she was glad her animal's produce were being put to such good use and other stuff like that.

In a way, you could say it was a rather "eventful"uneventful day. Stuff happened, it was cool going through it, but not very exciting to explain in detail. I really wish that's how it stayed the rest of the day, but then other stuff happened; stuff that I would think and wish were just a joke of a dream.

After giving Denny the privilege of indulging in the carrot cake service, too, we came across this little shack of a home I never noticed before that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It sure wasn't the Witch Princess' place, as that was deep in the forest, and we weren't there at all. Either way, Pierre insisted we finish what we started, so I went along with him. I just simply forgot who we might have left. Like I mentioned earlier, the Witch Princess was off in the forest, along with the Church guys, Alissa and Nathan, and we actually served those guys before looping back to meet Denny at the beach. And then I heard there was a tribe of island natives somewhere, but we're apparently cut off from them for the moment. I tend to be a tad slow at times, so I really had a hard time figuring this one until it hit me like a ton of bricks.

It was then that I remembered it was a Wednesday.

Oh crap.

The midget knocked on the door a few times. The resident took awhile to finally make some sort of noise towards the door. After what felt like an excruciatingly long time, the door finally creaked open. Standing right before us was a pair of weary purple eyes and some shaggy, unkempt, silver hair.

Of course. It was Flan.

"Good Morning, Sir!" Pierre introduced, "Could we interest you in some… Carrot Cake?"

"Carrot?" Flan repeated, "Did you say… "Carrot?""

Observing the miffed look on his face, he must not be a fan of stuff. Maybe he just really hates carrots? Or perhaps the vegetable played some part in an unspeakably painful past of his?

Great. That could mean carrots might make him emo… or psychopathic.

But clearly I was exaggerating this. At least I thought I was…

Pierre then nudged me with his elbow, cueing me to take out a piece of carrot cake while he took out his own. For some really weird reason, his slice was topped with smiley-face frosting. Mine was frosting-less. I took a glance at the eager salesman and noticed he was sticking his tongue out like some goofball. What the hell?

I turned towards the agitated cowboy with a look of indifference, trying to contain my utter rage at having to see the jerk's face, and sighed before reciting my part of the pitch.

"Yes, sir. With our without frosting?" I asked in monotone.

It was here that Old Purple Eyes' face started contorting into some twisted form of fury that I've never seen from anyone else.

"Carrot?" he shouted.

This wasn't looking good…

As if the shouting wasn't enough, the guy raised his fists in the air, and I could have sworn I saw veins popping in his EYES. I think he may have snapped.

"CARROT? CAROOOT! CARROOOOT! CAROOOOOOOOT!"

His mad cries roared across the whole island like some freaking Pokemon. I knew I had to do something to shut him up, but then Pierre stopped me and proceeded to drag me away. It looks like fear gives the little guy super strength. Right behind us was a psychotic Flan in hot pursuit.

"We've got to get out of here! He's gone loony!" Pierre shouted.

Thank you for stating the obvious, Wee Willy Wonka.

"H-hey! Didn't you sign me up as your bodyguard! Come on, let me go! I'm not afraid of him! I could floor the guy in one hit! Come on!" I argued.

"I'M NOT TAKING THAT CHANCE! RUN, CHELSEA! RUUUUUUUNNNNN!"

So, I couldn't really resolve this issue on my own. Pierre ended up dragging me all over the island while the obviously insane cowboy was chasing the both of us. The whole chase scene pretty much lasted until sundown, when we somehow lost the guy. After that whole fiasco, I decided to go to bed and try and forget the whole thing.

It just had to be a dream, right?

But the next day I brought up the tale to Pierre. He simply froze in fear and shuttered from the sheer terror of witnessing Flan's madness.

Oh wait, there was actually one sentence he managed to get out:

"_Chelsea, his name… is…Vaughn..."_

Poor guy…

* * *

**The Answer is: Spongebob Squarepants.**

**Up Next:**

**An Unexpected Crossover Cameo!**

**Here are three hints:**

**1. He likes saying "Tiger" a lot.**

**2. He has a scar and an eyepatch.**

**3. He's neither Bob Saget, nor is he a pirate.**


	6. The Lone Emperor

_Back in the day, when I wandered the streets as "Andre", I picked a fight with whoever got my attention and then proceed to pummel them within an inch of their life. I knew it wasn't right, but it felt good to me._

_I was able to leave behind my girlhood that I always felt was holding me back, and I could finally prove how strong I was. And perhaps, by some crazy notion, I believed I'd get my big brother's attention again if I could finally beat him._

_Though there was this crazy memory I had sometime after Kat recruited me to her Muay Thai gym._

_It was one of those times I resumed my usual prickery. After taking down another tough guy, there was this kid that just stood by and watched. He had short, jet-black hair and ruby red eyes, and he wore a jean jacket and a red shirt. He looked kinda scrawny, actually, but he didn't look too phased by all the violence going on around him._

_I'm not quite sure what lured me to him. Maybe his casual attitude pissed me off, or maybe I just felt like picking on someone who obviously looked weak at the time, but I went after him all the same. The thing was, that I couldn't really touch the guy. I wasn't really trying at first, but when he really made me work, he was moving me all over the place! It was like he was redirecting my attacks like he was traffic control or something. _

_I think the style he used on me was "Aikido", or something. Not a lot of people consider it a legitimate martial art, but I've heard some things about it, and apparently he knew how to make it work for him._

_Either way, it was the first time in a long string of fights that I was forced to draw, though I had a feeling he could have ended it easily if he chose to go on the offensive. _

_Of course, this only pissed me off even more._

"_Those are some pretty good moves you got there, White Tiger! Showing off some of that boxing form while throwing in a few good knee strikes? I can imagine this kind of fighting would be against the rules in a boxing match, but now I can see how it would work fine in a normal fight." He told me with a grin._

"_Are you mocking me?" I barked, while trying to keep my girlish eyes hidden under a cap, "And what the hell is with this "White Tiger" business?"_

_The kid straightened up his back and placed his hands behind his back, looking all too relaxed._

"_White Tiger, Byakko, Bai Hu; they all mean the same thing. I'm just trying to call you by a name you'd actually understand." He cheerfully explained._

"_That still doesn't make any sense." I growled._

_The kid's smile suddenly dropped, and he just stared at me like I was pretty dense._

"_Whatever," he sighed, "I just thought the name would fit, okay? Besides, you got some pretty powerful punches there!"_

_I didn't even know how the hell he could judge that when I couldn't even get in a single hit._

"_Yeah, I'd say you're pretty powerful for a teenage street boxer!" he added, with his irritating smile intact._

"_Interesting words coming from some prepubescent kid who wouldn't let me land a single hit…" I muttered. _

"_I'm not joking. You're pretty strong, probably stronger than what I could possibly hope to reach for." He answered back, sounding strangely more serious than from his last tone. "You've probably taken down a lot of guys bigger than you before this, huh?"_

_I decided to answer him with a nod._

"_That's impressive, alright. But I wouldn't let it go to your head like it has already. I'm smaller than you, but you just saw what happened, right? Now think what would happen if a big guy could read your moves and retaliate. That could really mess you up." He warned me._

"_And why are you telling me this?" I asked him while raising an eyebrow._

"_Just giving you some good old fashion common knowledge. There's always someone stronger than you, and there's always someone better. I'm just a kid, too, but know I still have quite a ways to go to catch up to them." He told me with his boyish grin returning front and center._

"_Why don't you go off and be a fortune cookie somewhere else? It's obvious you're not interested in finishing this with me." I barked._

"_Don't have to, really," he shrugged, "But you're right. I should probably get going."_

_Then that kid just walked off like nothing happened. I really didn't get how he could be so damn cheerful all the time. The one that bugged me most of all is that I got this slight hunch that he doesn't even really like fighting to begin with._

_So what did he need to get stronger for in the first place?_

"_By the way, I'm Gades. I would probably tell you my handle, too, but you don't seem to understand yours yet. It was nice finally meeting you, White Tiger." He told me before he actually left._

_Generic as his advice was, I found out the hard way when my big brother beat me in the tournament while I kept up that alter ego. And then he went on to get beaten my some old sparring partner of his._

_If the mountain of superior fighters already runs that high, I'm getting curious who the hell's at the top, and all the guys close to his strength._

_I'm already concerned that kid was already pretty high up there himself…_

* * *

**6****th**** Memory: The Lone Emperor**

* * *

The following week started off on the hectic side. Some of the locals reported an unauthorized visitor infiltrating the islands, and he's caused a bit of an uproar. Reports claimed he's hanging out on the newly-discovered island where the few remaining natives lived.

I remembered meeting those guys before, like Shiba, who a few locals kept calling "Shea" due to some really weird accent that made b's silent. The guy was "Tarzan" incarnate: he was a wild boy who somehow learned broken English, and even a little Japanese on the side. He was probably the only guy around here who could actually put up the kind of fight I'm looking for. Of course, the guy preferred saving his roughhousing for stuff like hunting instead of sparring a girl for sport. Looks like this "chivalry" stuff even exists with tribal cultures too. It makes me wonder what would go on if I decided to take up my old "Andre" handle and challenged him then. Then again, my old, cocky self was more than capable of saying something extremely stupid. Getting to the point, I'm pretty sure Shiba could take care of himself.

On the other hand, the person accompanying me on the intruder hunt could just as easily be snapped like a twig if she isn't careful.

If this was Natalie I was bringing along, at least I wouldn't have so much to worry about. The girl's got tenacity, even if she makes a habit of using it against her poor brother.

No, the one who ended up joining me on my trek did so for "diplomatic" purposes. I suppose trying to settle this matter peacefully would be a much better alternative, but since we don't know exactly who or what we're dealing with, things could get really unpredictable.

Obviously, I'm not very optimistic about the whole thing.

"Sabrina, are you sure?" I asked, "I'm glad you have confidence in your "peace conference" approach, but didn't you once consider that your life might be in more danger than you realize?"

"Please, you have to trust me, Chelsea. None of us may not be sure why our sudden "intruder" has took up residence, but this only makes communication even more essential." Sabrina tried to explain to me.

"I'm just saying, what if this guy is specifically gunning for you or Regis? You're a rich girl with connections! There are a lot of possible motives to come after you for that reason alone! We could be dealing with armed robbers, vindictive terrorists, trained assassins, maybe even rabid cowboy fan girls!" I ranted.

To be honest, I don't know where that last one came from. It just popped up in my head out of nowhere.

"But the reports claimed there was only one intruder present." Sabrina pointed out with a dorky grin on her face.

"Agh, you know what I meant!" I growled, as I could clearly tell she was trying to lighten the mood.

"Eh heh, sorry. Sorry." She bowed her head ever so slightly.

I simply shrugged it off. She was always terrible at irritating for long, anyway. Unlike someone else…

Eventually, we ventured into more tropical territory, a place that definitely said "native habitat" to me. Why a stranger would go so far into normally secluded territory at first was a bit beyond me. Sure, it's one of the better places to hide on these islands, but on the other hand, this was probably one of the more dangerous areas too. If this guy had a similar mindset to me, though, maybe he thought this would be a great training ground. Those chances were pretty slim, though.

All of a sudden, the area went a shade darker. It wasn't like the weather got all cloudy on us. Actually, it felt like we were approaching a really big shadow. Not that that was any better.

"Sabrina, just please stay behind me. This could get ugly if we're dealing with a maniac." I warned her.

"Er, right." She answered hesitantly.

She then chose to hold onto me by one hand and stayed close behind.

If I were a guy, hell, if I actually swung that way, I'd probably feel really good with the whole setup here, but the reality of it was that I was just glad my best friend here decided to put her trust on me. Yet it still made it harder to leave behind some of my unwanted masculine tendencies.

As we got closer to the source of the shadow, we got our first glimpse of what appeared to be a huge, statue-esque boulder standing before a waterfall. That thing was projecting a REALLY long shadow. I swore the thing was like a mini-mountain at first.

"I heard this location was our visitor's favorite spot." Sabrina informed me.

"Really?" I asked back.

I guess the waterfall's someplace fine to look at, and maybe even bathe in if you're not interested in using the inn awhile back and would rather keep yourself away from the public eye… even if some of the surrounding wildlife can be unsettling.

Slowly, we approached the huge, shadow-projecting landmark. I was personally interested in seeing if the thing like was one of those moa faces up close. At least, I was curious until I saw it shift a little.

Upon closer look, I realized the thing wasn't really stone at all. The dark shadow and faraway appearance obscured it a lot at first, but now that I could observe the color a whole lot better, that "boulder" was actually flesh. That thing was not a mini-mountain. It was more like a mountain man! Or a "mountain of a man", really. This guy was clearly not dressed the part of one of those hiker-types.

This really huge guy was bald, but unbelievably muscular. He had massive hands, which were mostly covered up by some sort of bandage-like wrapping much like the kind I've seen boxers like myself wear at times. Though the violet and blue boxers and matching foot wrappings told me he was of a different discipline altogether. I swore this guy could crush many guys like grapes!

"This… doesn't look good." I gulped.

"Wait. That man. Could it be…"

As Sabrina let go of my me, I stepped forward so I could get a good look at her behind me. She looked astonished, but for a different reason altogether.

"You mean you might know this guy?" I asked her.

"No, not personally. But I'm quite surprised you don't know of him yourself. You're far more acquainted with the fighting world, after all." She clarified.

At first, I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I got another look at the figure ahead of me. Of course, it was pretty hard to identify anyone just by looking at their back, even if the size alone would stand out. What I did recognize was his whole outfit: those who practiced Muay Thai wore that as their sparring uniform. Judging from that, it finally caught up to me as to who our mystery guest was. It only took one simple action to reveal himself.

"_**TIGER UPPERCUT!"**_

Right then and there, the big guy launched himself in the air and delivered a massive rising uppercut to the waterfall before him. I just couldn't believe it. The force from the blow somehow split the water **in half**. He actually, literally, parted water with his fist. It freaking defied physics, for calling out loud!

After landing in the spring where the waterfall trickled, he surely, but slowly turned around to reveal his front side to us.

There was no doubt about it now. His lone eye patch, which he received from a brutal match where killed his opponent, and the big gaping scar which he received from a man with a rising dragon fist: he was a legend of the very art that Kat introduced me to, the lone emperor.

"Mr. Sagat, sir?" Sabrina gently called out.

The giant Thai emerged from the spring without much of an expression change, and merely grunted a response to let us know we heard him.

His stoicism could definitely scare the crap out of that cowboy and make him piss his pants.

Sabrina decided to step out from my shadow to show herself.

"I'm… Sabrina, Daughter of Regis of the Regis Mining Company. I would personally like to welcome you to the Sunshine Islands, however, I must know why it is you entered here without any prior notice." she said in a firm tone despite her nervousness.

The towering figure raised his head, while his gaze lowered towards our little diplomat.

"I wished to train in solitude…" he simply uttered.

They say a picture's worth a thousand words, yet I felt like this guy's words had the impact of a thousand pictures. He clearly didn't like to say a lot, but I could really tell he didn't need to: he had his mere presence to back up anything he said.

His body then shifted forward as he tried to get a better look at Sabrina.

"Hmm… "Regis Mining Company"? That name is a well known conglomerate. It even holds some in my homeland, yes?" he further said.

"Yes. Although the mining industry isn't so prominent, I believe a few other branches have established some ground there. I myself have yet to see it, unfortunately." Sabrina lamented.

Sagat just stood in silence for a few seconds before giving a single nod.

"A shame… your business seems to have brought some progress to our front. Your father should be proud." He answered.

It was really strange hearing some praise going along with that solemn voice of his.

"Thank you, sir." Sabrina replied while trying really hard to keep her anxiety in check.

"And you?" he suddenly barked.

It was pretty intimidating when he said that while jerking his head towards my direction at the same time.

"T-They call me Chelsea," I stammered, "I actually dabbled in your martial art thanks to authentic branch in America, b-but to be honest, I'm really more of a boxer at heart. I actually mix both styles in an anything goes fight because I like some of the techniques involved in your style. T-they're not kidding when they said it was brutal!"

And then I gulped.

I was really wondering if I had offended the big guy in some way.

One way was by completely bastardizing it by incorporating it in another fighting style.

Another way was by calling it "brutal", like it was a barbaric sport or something.

Really, there's a chance I dug a deep hole here.

This time the big man stared down at me, and it felt like a much longer time span that he spent looking at Sabrina.

Though there is that chance that time just seemed to be slowing down because it was one of those very nerve-wracking moments.

"Interesting…" he uttered.

Again, thanks to his voice, it was pretty hard to tell what he meant by that. And that didn't make me feel any better.

"Who did you mean by… "they"?" he suddenly asked.

"I, uh… the islanders! The locals! Here! Around the islands!" I babbled.

I gulped yet again. It sounded like I made him out to be some idiot or something!

Sagat brought one of his huge hands to his massive chin, then raised an eyebrow as he looked very curious about me.

"So I can assume that "Chelsea" was a name given to you by the people of the island instead?" he questioned.

Well, it would be hard to assume him a dumb muscle man now! That was a pretty sharp observation.

The only way I could respond was by shaking my head up and down like a hyperactive bobblehead toy.

"Well then, as a fellow World Warrior, may I have your true given name?" he asked me.

To be honest, I don't even know if I was allowed to refuse his request. It sounded like he was practically demanding it from me, and it felt really iffy that way.

I'm not entirely sure how, but I felt like my real identity might cause a ruckus for those who witnessed the tournament I participated in. Sure, I never revealed it myself, but knowing how nosy journalists can get, and how bad that incident I caused AFTER the tournament, well, let's just say I would have been surprised if someone didn't dig deeper into the background of a certain participant who called "himself" Andre.

The only other person around here who even knows my real name happened to be right by my side, but I insisted she called me "Chelsea" like every one else. It's a pretty big testament to how much I trust that girl.

"It's… Ophelia, Sir." I replied.

Ophelia.

Man, if there's any awkward name in this day and age, that would be it.

You know that Shakespeare Play? Hamlet? I can't say I was too engrossed with the writing, but I do remember something about her being the fiancée of the title character that went batshit crazy after her fiancée messed with her heart one too many times and eventually off'ed herself from the madness.

It was pretty damn disturbing that I went through some madness of my own in an earlier part of my life. I'm really hoping the name isn't cursed or anything.

"Ophelia…" he spoke once more, "I will etch that name and face in my memory."

Wait a minute.

What?

What for?

"Uh, Sagat, Sir?"

The internationally-proclaimed Emperor of Muay Thai suddenly had this nostalgic look on his face. He looked somewhat pained, yet I don't think he was insulted.

"It's strange. I feel shades of the man who scarred me those many years ago, yet I sense the shadow of my former self looming over. It's as if a kindred spirit stands before me…" he explained.

So was this what he felt from me?

All I did was practice some of the same martial art, and even then, it's not like I'm as dedicated to as Kat is. But I did see he was going somewhere with this.

"Long ago, at the peak of my prime, my people proclaimed me invincible. Even as I suffered the loss of an eye against a fellow upstart, they felt none could best me, but I felt that was not enough. Even when I believed it myself, I hungered for proof of this truth, and I saw that branching out beyond the scope of my art in search of opponents would be necessary. It was then that I chose to hold the first ever "World Warrior" Tournament, where I could officially declare my supremacy as the last man standing. But then that man, the one with the rising dragon fist, earned my precious victory when he scarred my chest with that savage blow. It was maddening. It was an outrage. That man was clearly a greenhorn compared to the seasoned fighters who entered, yet he made it all the way and defeated me, an Emperor…"

I was surprised how talkative the guy became, yet it was bound to happen when you relive memories. The man who defeated him… it almost sounded like what my life story would have been if I had just defeated my brother in the quarter finals and pushed on to win. But everyone who watched that fight knew he was an honorable man at heart, while I, on the other hand, was one cocky asshole.

"The outrage lead me to seek revenge. I knew I had to hold another tournament to rectify my disgrace, yet my defeat cost me my disciples, along with much of my support. But then that man, the one who in charge Shadaloo, revealed himself to me and offered his sponsorship in exchange for representing his organization. I was too blinded by rage to see his ambition, and gladly accepted. Nonetheless, more years followed, and I was once again defeated by the very same fighter. Seeing him again was strange: he had clearly tempered himself, and the overwhelming desire to achieve victory at all costs that wounded my chest. It was thanks to him that I was finally able to second guess myself: why couldn't I have learned to the same as him? Why didn't I move on? It was when I realized this that I finally, truly understood the meaning of the fight…"

I personally remember not taking that loss against my brother really well, too. I put in all that effort to finally clobber the guy and show him and everyone up, but then he had to ruin it for me. Though it did brought into question the guy who beat him and won it all. I actually got a shot at him myself after the tournament, apparently, but I doubt he gave it his all. Hell, I don't even remember the fight. It was one big blur, and the only reason I knew there was one to begin with was because my opponent pretty much told so to my face.

"I see. Perhaps you suffered your first lesson in humility some time ago as well?" Sagat asked me.

Yeah, I did. It involved having my ass handed to me. Twice.

"Yes, Sir." I answered aloud more politely.

When I got another good look at him, I could have sworn I saw a smirk on his face. Sabrina look pretty shocked at spotting it, too.

"You seem lost now, yet the meaning of your humility had sunk it much sooner than it had for me. And you even give off a determined, powerful aura much like his was. Yes, I just might actually be envious…" he told me.

And then it was my turn to receive a compliment. It was strange to one of the most physically powerful men in existence to get sentimental like this, but I'll admit that it was an honor.

Yet none of this took away the unsettling feeling his overwhelming presence gave me.

"I actually feel honored that you came to look into Muay Thai." He admitted.

"T-Thank you, Sir." I answered.

I wasn't even sure what I learned was entirely authentic. I've heard plenty of guys who claimed to teach the art were really teaching watered-down versions of the actual style. It didn't help that I was a student at an American gym, where we practically watered down anything remotely cultural from another country.

Of course, I could always have him kick my ass with the real thing to see how close I am.

"It's strange, though. Your style sounds much like that of a participant who fought in an international tournament from two years ago. However he was a young man who called himself "Andre". Interesting…"

My eyes must have widened when he mentioned that. I have no idea why he'd even be interested in some amateur fight night of a tourney compared to his grand standing, but then I figured he had closer ties to the martial arts world than I realized.

After dwelling briefly on those nerve-wracking thoughts, Sagat chose to extend one of his arms out… for a handshake.

"It is a pleasure to meet another who follows the path of the warrior," he proclaimed.

I raised my hand, then looked at mine in comparison to his. I was kind of afraid he might squish it in attempt to exchange a goodwill gesture. I turned my head slightly towards Sabrina since I wasn't entirely sure this was a good idea.

"Uh, hey. Sabrina? Maybe we should both try and shake his hand at the same time? I think his palm has more than enough room for the two of us?" I commented to the side.

Luckily, Sagat wasn't offended by my words, but Sabrina just shook her head as she stood off to the side.

"You should show your respect, Chelsea. This man must see you as something of a colleague now." She answered.

More like a future rival. But I guess that's how colleagues are in the world of fighting. And if I know Kat, I doubt she'd let her self-proclaimed position as my personal rival go away so easily. If that's true, would she even go as far as fight this guy to maintain her position?

I shrugged, then risked having the bones and joints in my hand getting broken in order to go through with the handshake. Luckily for me, he knew how to hold back enough so that I would be left to rely on my left hand for the rest of my life.

"You have a firm grip for someone of your stature. Impressive." He told me.

I don't how he could tell that with his own strength to compare with, but that sounded pretty cool.

"You have much potential, after all. I will look forward to the time we may face each other in earnest; however, I see that you have a journey of your own you must make, but I can wait. In the mean time, there is another who I must prepare to face myself. I must that man once more, but without any tainted ambition. I feel this is the only way to make amends."

I'm still pretty sure he could kill me when the time comes, but some insane part of me honestly looked forward to this future fight. It's the greatest privilege a true fighter could ever hope for, after all: to challenge the strongest the world had to offer.

I suddenly heard a flash, and turned to see that Sabrina had a camera on her.

"I simply wanted a memento in order to commemorate this meeting, after all. Not even I receive the sort of privilege to meet a reputable man such as yourself." Sabrina explained.

Sagat look slightly agitated when he let go of my hand, but he wasn't mad enough to throw a fit over it.

"Very well then." He uttered.

"So, Mr. Sagat. Since we've cleared matters up, would you be interested in introducing yourself to the rest of the islanders? We've had some interesting company in the last few weeks, but I think having a celebrity such as yourself would really raise enthusiasm!" Sabrina proposed.

Slowly, Sagat turned his head, looking like he was using that time to think it over.

"I arrived here in secret to remain in seclusion." Sagat explained.

Sabrina looked disappointed, and I felt the same. I even thought Natalie would like meeting one of the world's strongest fighters in person, too.

"You have no guarantee, but I will consider it." He finished.

A few days later, we found he took off without further notice, though he did leave behind traces of his presence on the island.

Apparently, Shiba and his father Wada met with after all. It looked like the native guy's power was put to shame, but he was ecstatic to have encountered a strong guy like him. It even sounded like Sagat really did learn to be a good sport in the long run.

And I was especially surprised to find out a single person managed to catch up to him before he departed.

It was Natalie.

Apparently, her spunk manage to wear down the big guy, and while it wasn't really in a fight, she did get to learn a few things from him, which she unfortunately started using on her brother. Good thing I was there to calm her down. From what she told me, though, it sounded like she had a lot of fun meeting Sagat, too.

That nostalgia trip really got me wondering about "that man", the one who beat him with the rising dragon punch.

I heard that his fighting style rivaled my brother's Kaisei-ryu style, and that it was derived from the ultimate techniques of unarmed assassination.

They even say the man wandered the world, looking only for strong opponents to fight, but that he fought only with good will in mind.

His name is Ryu.

And after meeting one who had met him personally, I thought it might be cool someday to meet him, too.

* * *

**Yes, for one chapter, I managed to crossover Harvest Moon with STREET FIGHTER. Pretty wacky, huh?**

**I actually consider Gades to be a "mascot character" for some of my original fiction. I found it fun finding an excuse to plug him into a Harvest Moon fanfiction. Of course, he's more important in those stories than something like this. I hope he left an interesting first impression.**

**Up Next:**

**Sabrina, Flan/Vaughn, and Regis.**

**There be a climax a brewin'…**


	7. All In The Name of Love

There was another interesting rant that Chief went on one time. The subject made me a little uncomfortable this time, but I knew he was just trying to offer some of his wisdom in the weird we he usually did.

"_It's probably a no-brainer for everyone, but parents can really make a guy on-edge at times. The precise reason is likely because they're your parents. Somewhere along the line, they drill into your mind all things they've done for you out of love, and it starts this guilt trip of how ungrateful you are for them whenever they piss you off in some way. And if you're one of the good kids, you really do start taking into consideration and feel a little bad about realizing what they pull off to raise you. But then, with more experience, with all those times they've told you not to make excuses for your actions, you begin to realize that all that time they've been making excuses for the way they've been treating you, too. It starts reaching a point where being their child starts feeling derogatory in same because of the imposed authority they have over you. If they're good parents, you know it's with the motivation that they love you, but that doesn't really make the whole thing any better. Sometimes you have to wonder if there will ever come a time that they'll get over themselves so that they'll eventually come to let us show how grateful you really were the whole time._

_Growing up can suck real bad sometimes. You'll never be sure how much hormones can mess you up sometimes, and you may not even realize the changes as time goes on."_

It's pretty embarrassing, actually.

For most of my early childhood, my life mostly revolved around my older brother. I didn't remember much about my parents back then. Maybe that's why I felt so distant from them when he went to Japan for training.

So what then? I couldn't really tell anybody if my parents were good or bad anything.

It's a little too late to form any lasting opinion on them now.

At least I had the guys at the café and Kat to look after me.

If anything, my only abandonment issues left are with my brother.

I guess I can't completely understand about the baggage with his parents that Chief went on about.

But there was one thing that bothered me when I thought about it:

Why the hell did my folks let my brother go all the way to some foreign country on his own?

* * *

**7****th**** Memory: All In The Name of Love**

* * *

Two whole seasons passed since I wound up on this island.

Natalie still hassled me into showing her some boxing, with Denny sometimes dragging me away from work and training in order to more fishing. And then there's Julia who tries to get me to relax at the local café when everything else started stressing me out. Of course, I still looked forward to whenever I could just unwind with Sabrina after doing favors for her at the mines. As for that creamy treat-themed cowboy, I opted to stay away from the guy as much as possible. As much as Sabrina wanted me to get along with him, actually trying to do so was too much of a pain. It was better this way, anyway: I wouldn't get pissed off at the guy while he was hanging out with her, and he can enjoy himself as long as he behaved. I really wanted to trust her, so here's hoping her influence might someday reach appoint where I can someday tolerate his awful presence.

Overall, it became a daily routine with the occasional mixed bag thrown in. Every day had some element that I could see coming a mile away.

Of course, I knew this couldn't last forever.

It was early fall, and Natalie once again had me show her the ropes with boxing. After all this time, I feel like I've been very slow with her, as I never went through all the fundamentals with her somehow. I never thought I was an ideal teacher, to be honest.

"Natalie, you're too much weight in your punches again!" I scolded.

Natalie stopped punching in mid-air and stared at me funny.

"Whoa, what? Come on! Isn't that how you're supposed to get power in a punch? The more weight, the more power?" she argued.

I shook my head in disgust.

I knew that kind of simple use of force was a common thing to believe, but I learned better along the way.

"No. Listen, I know where that kind of thinking comes from, but it won't help out in the long run. A simple thing like a jab, especially, shouldn't be executed like that! And that's the simplest, least energy-wasting punch!"

I threw out a few quick jabs in the air, showing how little pushing was needed.

"Just think of it this way: the force of the blow, the power behind the strike; it's all about the time of impact. Every bit of force should be applied the moment you make contact instead of on the way, otherwise you're wasting energy getting there instead of throwing it all into the actual time of attack. It's… like a snapping motion, I guess." I explained to her.

"Whaaat? How does that work? I use the same sort of punches on Elliot whenever he bugs me and they work just fine!" Natalie retorted.

Oh good grief.

Please stop bringing up how you'd use hand-to-hand combat to abuse your brother and focus!

I'd feel more confident in teaching her if I was she'd use it for a reason that wouldn't bug me…

"Yeah, there are times where putting all your weight into a blow will help, but tends to be more effective as a desperation strike like a haymaker. Even then, it would help more if you added a little wind-up for extra oomph, but all that ends up doing is use up a whole lot of time and energy. Simply pushing like that is just shoving your fist in your opponent. You gotta hit like a whip to do more damage and use less energy! Strike and retract! That way you can also maintain a decent defense while still staying on the offensive!" I further elaborated.

"And that involves… applying force at the last minute?" Natalie asked me with a blank stare.

This was tough.

I personally learned for myself that showing this with the arms can be much tougher than with the legs. Muay Thai had first got me to look into kicks, but it was a Tae Kwon Do student like Chief who was able to tell me how useful this snapping motion really helped. Some martial art that involved mostly kicks could feel like a very limited arsenal, but using fast and effective attacks can really make a difference. He was always telling me how he lacked confidence in being a true fighter despite being a black belt, but in those few sparring matches we had, he did a really good job putting on pressure and keeping me away with those lightning legs of his. The guy was also pretty flexible for someone claiming to be out of shape.

"Look." I said.

At the risk of hurting my hand, I dragged her over to the nearby sign to demonstrate.

"This is a punch when you simply shove your weight at your target."

I imitated Natalie's preferred punching method, and it made a thud against the sign.

"And this is a punch when you chose to snap into it."

This time, I lightly, but swiftly moved my arm towards the sign, only to twist my fist and push out at the moment of impact, causing more of cracking noise.

Natalie watched back in disbelief as she noted the difference.

"You heard the difference?" I asked her.

She sort of looked at me with this blank stare.

"Y-yeah…"

"Now, I suppose trying to apply this to a hook and uppercut might be difficult, but it has its way of working out too-"

"Chelsea! I received some really important news!" an older woman cried out.

The crier rushed in to interrupt our lesson while holding a letter. Said crier turned out to be Felicia, Natalie and Elliot's mother. She had her light red hair mostly combed back and tied into a very fluffy ponytail.

She looked very kind and gentle, like the kind of mother you'd expect most to be like, though she tends to squint a lot. Oddly enough, I've seen Natalie make a very similar expression whenever she's super happy over something.

Come to think of it, Ms. Mirabelle once told me Felicia is quite the jokester whenever they talked together. Putting Natalie's michevous nature into consideration, wouldn't that mean there was a chance Felicia might have been a little like Natalie when she was younger? And could this mean that Natalie might grow up to be just as prissy and cheerful as her mom under the right circumstances?

I think my brain just broke.

"What is it, Ms. Felicia?" I asked her.

"I just received word that Mark, the designated farmer for the islands, will be arriving by the end of next week!" she told me.

Natalie raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, does that mean-"

"Looks like I'll finally be able to head out soon." I finished.

Natalie started looking real upset while her mother was mildly concerned.

"I'm almost torn. I'm actually quite happy that you'll finally be able to make the trip you were intending to make before the storm arrived and ruined everything! But at the same time, I feel sad that we'll have to let go of a dear friend we made on the island." Felicia lamented.

"Hey, no big deal! We still got a good two weeks left to hang out, right? I'm sure we can make the best of that time!" I replied, hoping it would lighten the mood.

"But… but it's really cool to have a friend like you around!" Natalie complied, "Every other girl on the island is too girly, but you're actually someone I could get behind and have fun with! Do you know how hard it can be sometimes trying to get a good conversation with Julia and Lanna sometimes? Lanna's all giggly form being a chipper former pop idol, and Julia's just as saintly as Mom is!"

I'll said it again: for someone who dresses the way she does, her personality would allow her to wear a nun outfit with proper pride.

"It is true that Julia's such a well-behaved young lady." Felicia added.

"Natalie, I'm sorry. Really. It's just… I wasn't planning on being the residential farmer forever, and besides, there's someone waiting over the coast for me that I promised I would meet with. This meeting is very important to me, so I have to make it as soon as the island's secure…" I told to her.

I knew trying to explain to Natalie wouldn't make things easier, but she had to understand the truth.

My time as "Chelsea" was good and fine, but I couldn't just remain stagnant forever. I already learned that the hard way. "Ophelia" still had some growing up to do, and there was no way she can truly move on with her life until she finally became stronger.

"Chelsea…" she whimpered as she came close to the point of crying.

"Natalie, hold on." I told her gently.

I decided to hold on to her while keeping her safely out of sight.

I figured if any outsider saw her in such a vulnerable state, she wouldn't hesitate to rage at whoever was unfortunate enough to witness this. I couldn't let that happen now, could I?

"It'll be alright. When I'm gone, I'll be sure to get you the address I'll be staying at. And you know where I've been living before here, so you can write me there when I'm done with my training overseas! It'll be cool. You know a long-distance friendship has a much better chance at staying afloat than any crazy dating sort of thing! Besides, I'll be sure to stop by here before I return home. We're tight like sisters, don't you know? I'm not going to run off and forget about you." I assured her.

That girl was trying so hard to stifle her tears. I'd tell her it was okay to her to cry, but I think for now it would be the last thing she'd want to hear from someone she looked up to like a hero.

"Chelsea, please. If you're really going, don't you dare forget about us!" she cried.

I started having strange flashbacks of when my brother left me to learn his martial arts in Japan, and how much I was begging him not to go.

I was about to do the same thing, wasn't I? My brother left me behind to do something he thought was more important, but...

No, this was different. Everyone else I was living with except for him never really paid attention to me. Natalie has her family along with an entire community to look after her.

It was really strange looking at her like this. In one way, she was like my shadow, but a long time ago, I had also seen her as someone I may have become if only brother stayed to watch out for me.

It was probably a cheap reason to get along with her, but I guess everyone needs someone they can relate to so they knew they weren't alone in the world. It looks like I was just that person for Natalie, but she'd have to learn to move on. I'm probably not the best person to teach her that there's more to life than acting tough, something that I wish I realized sooner myself.

"There, there, Natalie. We'll just have to hold her such a big feast before she leaves they she'll have no choice but to remember us." Felicia proposed.

The shaken tomboy rose her head and looked at her mom curiously.

"…Mom?"

"You've been hanging out with that young Gourmet for quite a while now, yes? I'm sure you'll be able to cook up a fine meal that'll leave a lasting impression on Chelsea's taste buds." Felicia suggested.

"Really? You think so?" Natalie asked.

"I've seen you work so hard at the kitchen, honey, and I can see the love you put in your cooking. You're so passionate in it… I doubt your love for cooking will let you down." Felicia assured her daughter.

Natalie then lowered her head, stifling even more tears. I saw her clench her fists, as if some hard thought had just struck her. Suddenly, she stepped back and pointed a finger at me with a determined look in her eyes.

"Here me out, Chelsea! When that day comes, I'm going to make such a great meal that it will power you a thousand times more! No, you'll over nine thousand times stronger! I swear it! Just you wait!" she proclaimed.

Wow, give the girl a scoter and she'd likely shatter that thing into a million pieces!

Um, maybe that expression wouldn't make sense to the right people.

Natalie's red hot determination made me grin.

"Of course! Now I want to try this meal you have planned more than ever!" I told her.

"Good! There's no way I'm going to let you down!" she promised me.

At the same time, Felicia was observing her daughter with a curious grin of her own. I was starting to think by the… er… twinkle in her… squinty…eyes… that she was feeling something nostalgic of her own. Maybe she went through something similar to what her daughter did just now?

"Okay! Now with that said, Mom, would you mind giving Chelsea and me some space? I want Chelsea to teach me some more boxing stuff!" Natalie asked to hurry things along.

A rather pleased Felicia giggled and stepped back.

"Not at all! I'm sure your friend still has much to show you." She replied.

"CHELSEAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" another voice cried out in the distance.

Great, what was it this time?

One incoming stampede later, it was revealed to us that it was Julia who came bearing more news.

"Julia? What's going on?" I asked her, feeling unsure just how urgent this might be.

That poor lady looked shaken. She must really be worried about whatever it was.

"It's Vaughn! Regis called him to the manor!" she cried.

Just great. It had to be a Wednesday, did it? I really wanted to keep my policy of staying out of Flan's way if he was really the decent guy Sabrina said he was, so I didn't want to bother dealing with this.

"So?" I asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Look, I know you couldn't care less about him, but Regis is Sabrina's father! You're her friend, aren't you? She looked really upset when she came to get Vaugh for him! Whatever's going on between the three of them must be bad news for sure!" she warned me.

Sabrina? Upset?

And Snidely Whiplash is involved?

Great. Just Great.

No, this really does sound pretty bad.

I don't know exactly how Flan's caught up in this, but if this involved Sabrina and Snidely, well…

Sabrina's likely going to suffer the worst of it.

I didn't waste another moment. Once again, I rushed towards the manor where everyone was meeting.

Julia's really got to stop making me do this.

Once I arrived there, it looked like everyone else made it to the meeting. It wasn't too long before someone started speaking up.

"So, what are we doing here?" A familiar, jerk-ish voice demanded.

I got closer and noticed that Flan was standing center-stage right before Regis' desk.

The face of the iconic villain-like man glowed with an intense wrath.

"...You seem to get along very well with my daughter, Sabrina…" he hissed.

"Meaning?" Vaughn huffed.

Regis' gleaming eyes crept closer to Vaughn's face, looking ready to bite it clean off.

"A MAN LIKE YOU WOULD ONLY BECOME FRIENDLY WITH MY DAUGHTER FOR OUR FORTUNE!" he accused.

Well, that took me back to when Sabrina first brought up the man. I arrived at the very same conclusion as him. It didn't help that he sucked at being nice to people in general.

"DON'T YOU EVER COME NEAR MY DAUGHTER AGAIN!" Regis threatened.

"Father! Did you ask Vaughn to come see you just so you could say that to him?" Sabrina demeaned to know form the sidelines, "You're so rude to him!"

"You stay out of this, Sabrina!" Regis ordered.

The hell? What is that moron saying? This whole personal conference had everything to do with her! Of course she had to speak up!

Suddenly, as if some great presence possessed her, Sabrina stepped forward with her posture fully erect and ready for decisive action.

"But Vaughn isn't like that! It's not your decision, father!"

I probably had the widest smile on my face at that moment. Seeing my friend stand up for herself, when she's usually one of the most gentle people I knew, was quite possibly the coolest thing I had ever seen.

"Hmph," Regis scoffed, "I'm not falling for it one bit! From what I've heard, that young man only cares about money!"

An uneasy memory lingered into my mind. I did remember Denny forcing one of his discussions about Flan, and one of them did go on about how business-focused the guy was. Hearing it from him, it did give me enough reason to get pissed off at the cowboy for hanging around Sabrina for his own motives.

A harsh foot stomp echoed throughout the manor that quickly knocked the smugness off of Snidely's face. Flan was staring him straight in the eye, looking more pissed off than ever.

"I'll admit, money is the most important thing to me, yes. But I'm not that way with Sabrina!" he declared, "I am not happy with you feeling that way about me!"

My eyes went wide with disbelief.

There he was, throwing out his trump card with everything he had.

He didn't waver or flinch. His eyes simply stayed focused on the man before him, who was clearly outraged.

I didn't believe it. That rotten cowboy actually looked pretty manly there. Like a real man.

I never thought I'd ever come to see the day.

"Is that all you had to say to me?" Vaughn continued, with both his hands clenched.

I'm not sure if the guy was quick to resort to physical violence, but it looked like he was really going to let that villain have it one way or another.

"Fine. You know what? If that's how things stand, then I'll never talk to Sabrina again! Happy now?" he shouted.

Regis' jaw dropped. My jaw dropped. Sabrina's jaw dropped. The only one in the vicinity without their mouth gaping wide open was the man who just spoke up.

What. The. Hell?

Was that no-good cowboy really going to let it play out like this?

"V-Vaughn?" Sabrina whimpered.

Snidely's mouth slowly curled into a very wicked grin. He was silent at first, but when he opened up again, he was roaring with the most vile laughter I had ever heard. It was like the bad guy had finally triumphed over good.

"Yes! Yes! That is acceptable to me. Very very acceptable! Music to my ears, in fact! Now then, I insist you get out of my house this instant!" Regis roared.

I doubt he knew just unsettling an atmosphere he was leaving with his obnoxious glee. All of it was just too disgusting to watch.

I wondered for a moment if that stinking cowboy was going to change his mind, but then he just turned away and walked off without looking back. He even walked past me and never bothered to pay attention to me as he head towards the door. Without saying another word, he slammed the door, and presumably stormed off.

At that moment, my blood was boiling. I wasn't completely sure what caused it to heat up so much. Was it that cowboy's departure? Was it Snidely's sudden demands? Or was it Sabrina's suffering? I didn't know. And eventually, I didn't care.

The one sound ringing in my ears was that damn tycoon's mocking laughter.

"Did you see, Sabrina?" Regis began, "he was simply trying to trick you by relying on his looks. That cad. What shallow, contemptible man he is."

"Father!" Sabrina's voiced cracked.

Maybe I could have let Sabrina try to handle this on her own, but I thought I was more than angry enough for the both of us. I still wasn't sure what really set me off, but at the moment, the one I was most mad at was Regis.

With this burning feeling taking over, I threw myself forward and quickly cut the distance between me and Sabrina's dad, only to stop myself by slamming both hands on his desk.

"YOU… IDIOT!" I shouted.

This time it was my turn to wipe that smug look off his face.

"Y-Y-You lowly commoner! What are you-"

"SHUT UP! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THAT BASTARD YOU SENT AWAY JUST DID?"

Okay, so I still didn't have anything nice to call Flan. Sue me.

Regardless, that second line left him twitching frantically.

"HE JUST CUT OFF TIES WITH SOMEONE HE CARED ABOUT! ALL TO SAVE FACE FOR HER SAKE! YOUR OWN DAMN DAUGHTER!"

I raised and pointed a finger at her impulsively, wanting to show that man how visibly upset my best friend was. He took a glance, but his emotion barely changed.

"DO YOU FEEL HAPPY DOING THAT TO HER? HUH? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY?"

Still, he refused to answer me. He just sat there, gritting his teeth.

I don't even know if I was really scaring him. For sure, though, he was genuinely shocked. I probably could have smacked the guy upside head right then and there, but I didn't bother. I think all that yelling pretty much made my point.

After a long silence, Regis scoot his chair back, took one more glance at his daughter, shifted his eyes towards the door, and… actually just sat there, maintaining the silence. So much for anything else he had to say.

So I decided to turn away instead, a lot like the cowboy before me did. I focused my sight and Sabrina and noticed her trembling on the spot. In the end, it was as I thought: she was the most upset of all out of anybody.

There was a chance she was even bigger ticking time bomb than I was, but I took my chances anyway. I walked up to her slowly, with most of my rage contained at the moment. I looked her in the eye as best as I could, and asked her the one main question on my mind:

"Does he really mean a lot to you?"

On that rare instant, Sabrina removed her glasses and rose her head to meet me. Her bare, violet eyes were tearing badly.

"Yes… the world…" she answered softly.

Then I dropped my head, tightened both fists, and clenched my own teeth.

"Fine…" I sighed.

Finally, I made my way towards the door, as if I chose to imitate that damn cowboy's actions when he left.

But when I grasped the handle and opened the door, I didn't even bother closing it.

I took one firm step out the door, then took off sprinting.

I had to find that damn cowboy. This was his responsibility now.

I was going to leave the island in two weeks, and like it or not, the only one I could trust to take care of Sabrina, the one friend I could completely confide in out of this whole island, was him.

I didn't like any of this, but what choice did I have?

That guy made his one decisive move to show much he cared about her more than anything, and she expressed to me, twice, that she would be more than willing to return his feelings.

It was all up to me to fix this whole mess.

Damn it. Why it did all have to come down to this?

Damn it…

Damn it!

* * *

**Up Next:**

**Vaughn takes center stage.**


	8. Tiger And Wolf

That evening after the tournament…

Whatever hell I put those people through…

All of it was a blur.

All I could remember was that someone was careless enough to knock off the cap that concealed my girlish face.

After that, I woke up battered and bruised.

It was hard to make out anything at first, but when my eyesight finally recovered, and I looked up, I saw a Japanese boy a few years older than me standing above me, wearing a black shirt with red flames and a pair of black jeans.

He was the tournament champion, the one that defeated my brother in the semi-finals.

Like the other times I've seen him, it was very hard to read his emotions at first.

His eyes were neither cold nor vengeful. He was usually a presence that was simply there.

But when I finally got a good look at his expression then and there, he looked… disappointed.

"_So this was all you had? Even with all that inner strength behind you, all you could accomplish was to lash out like a wild beast? How sad…"_

He sounded more frustrated than jeering. It was odd. I had a feeling he was looking forward to another good fight from my crazed state of mind.

"_What a shame. It seems as though you were far more competent when you masqueraded as a boy. I had actually looked forward to the possibility facing you back then, too."_

So he was more interested in fighting me instead of my brother? Was he implying that I might have given him a better match?

That guy leaned forward and got a good look at the face I presumed he messed up when I went berserk. He looked surprised upon the glance he gave me.

"…_You? You're that girl, the little sister of that boy my teacher took in?"_

Right. This was the one that my brother trained with when he studied that foreign martial art.

I remembered seeing him back then, too. He was that stoic boy who always looked unnerved by his teacher for some reason.

It may have been just me, but I thought I saw him smirk for a brief second.

"_I always questioned my teacher back then, why he never bothered taking her in for the sake of abiding by tradition when it was clear she would be the stronger one by far…" he expressed._

I thought it was strange. How in the world could he have sensed something like that within me when we were all little kids back then?

"_But I'm relieved. To see that all that potential still remains. It would be a shame to see all of it go to waste…"_

He must have been talking to himself the whole time he recognized me.

"_Hey, you. I can tell that you're ashamed of the weakness that distracts you. If you desire strength to overcome this weakness, maybe I can help. But don't bother coming if your head is still clouded. Find out who you really are, clear your mind, then come to me with your answer once you've made up your mind. I'd be interesting in fixing my teacher's mistake if possible." _

It was such a painfully one-sided conversation, but I didn't have the strength to talk back.

He probably cared more about having another strong opponent around than my actual wellbeing, but he had a point: I wasn't entirely sure who I was, exactly.

This whole time, when I wanted to feel confidence in myself, I had to take away all the shame and perception of myself being a girl and resumed the persona of Andre, a fighter I felt could take on all challenges without hesitation.

But he lacked humility, among another things. So it was hard to genuinely respect him.

I was so ashamed of my identity as a girl that if anyone saw my true face, my mind would go blank and all that I could think of was to hurt everything around me.

We were lucky he came along to knock me back to my senses.

After getting out all those words, he turned his back, ready to resume his life with a tournament championship to his name. He didn't look completely satisfied, however. I couldn't help but think there was a greater ambition that drove him.

"_I'll be waiting for an answer in my homeland…"_

Those were the last words he said to me before we parted ways.

His name was Hiroshi Kaisei.

He was the reason I worked at the Bed of Roses Café in order to earn the money for the next tournament.

He was the reason I took that boat in order to meet with him in a foreign land.

He was the reason I got caught in that ravaging storm one fateful night.

And he was the reason why I wound up on this island with all these people.

* * *

**8th**** Memory: Tiger and Wolf**

* * *

I kept on running, going as fast as my legs could carry me.

There was no way that cowboy could have gotten far enough to lose me with what little time he had!

Of course, it really didn't help that I had no clue which way that he went, so I had to rely on gut instinct towards some jerk I barely knew.

My first instinct was the pier, but I chose to check with Julia at first. She said he didn't even see him pass by that way.

I figured he wouldn't bother stopping by at this rate, but I was surprised no one saw him around when it's hard to miss him. If you can bump into the man without much effort, there's no way not to notice him.

Unfortunately, my hunch at the pier proved to be wrong. I doubt he had already fled town, as there weren't any ferries scheduled at this time.

I knew he already gave up any hope or interest in my farm at this point, so I wouldn't bother checking back there.

The only place that left for now would be that stretch of forest land with the church and pond… and that crazy ass witch princess with a few screws loose.

I've met with her a few times, but it's nothing I'm interested in going over too deeply. Let's just say she took a teddy bear obsession of her's too far when I first got a look inside her hut.

In all honesty, I wasn't even sure if I'd find him there. With all the time I wasted looking everywhere else, he had enough time to hike it all the way to the mines, but I made the mad dash, anyway. I had a bone to pick with the guy, and it's really hard to let go of something with all that drama attached it.

When I finally made it to the forest, I was surprised to see he actually just got there himself. Either he was just really slow, he enjoyed taking his time, or he spent a lot of that time trying to stay clear of everyone's line of sight on the way here.

Whatever, I had no time to dwell over this.

With my target in sight, my blood boiled more than ever.

I may have been even more pissed off at Regis for causing this whole mess, but it was still this guy that played the "stupid hand" that gave that blackheart the win.

It was because he chose to run away when it mattered most.

I continued my pursuit of him with a fist clenched at my side. I probably should have saved what I had in store for Snidely instead, but apparently this guy needed it more than anyone right.

"KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

"Ugh, what is it? And for the last time, but name is Va-"

Too bad. Didn't care.

My fist intercepted whatever it was that was coming out of his mouth as I landed a clean hit right at his jaw. That one blow sent him flying into the dirt.

See? I knew I could take him out in one hit.

The shock from the punch left him quaking. He was struggling to pick himself off the ground, but I had a feeling there was something else that was rattling him at that moment.

"GET UP!" I demanded.

His body was still shaky, but this time he put in more effort at stabilizing himself as he got on his knees. For a moment, he remained in that position with his back turned to me, but then he gave a sigh and finally got back on his feet. He turned to face me looking disgruntled while at the same time wincing at the pain I just caused him.

"What…the hell… do you want?" he started, "I'm finally leaving your best friend alone once and for all. I'd assume you'd be glad."

His voice sounded too snide for someone that just realized how easily I could beat the crap out of him. But maybe he just didn't give a damn anymore. Too bad I have a lot more to care about in all of this.

"YOU COWARD!"

That flaky cowboy shot me a funny look with what I just called him.

"What?"

"YOU USELESS, FILTHY COWARD!" I shouted, "YOU START OFF BY DEFENDING YOUR FEELINGS FOR HER AND THEN YOU JUST LEAVE WITHOUT A FIGHT?"

Suddenly, his outrage rose to meet mine as he glared at me with equal intensity.

"You have no clue, do you? Sabrina means a lot to me! I wasn't about to let my feelings for her be tarnished by someone thinking differently." He argued.

"And what? Apparently you mean a lot to her, too! She spent one damn afternoon defending you from me! Hell, it looked like she was prepared to do the same with her father! If you really love her so much, you should have more faith in her!" I shouted.

"I was just… look, I'm protecting her here too, okay? If I was the one thing making her life difficult, then it was my responsibility to take myself out! I'm not going to do the stupid thing and stay with her if it will make her miserable!" he defended.

"And how the hell exactly was that smart? You should have stayed! You should have fought this thing to the bitter end! And Sabrina actually had the nerve to back you up! She has much more of a spine then you realize! Hell, she probably has even more of a spine than you after what you just pulled!" I argued back.

I think I hit a nerve, there. He winced again, but not out of pain that time.

"I don't even know the first thing about being in love, but I've seen plenty of people to see what it can do. There were times I've seen people become complete douchebags because of the feelings, but then I've seen a few pairs that actually grew because they didn't spend their whole time with their lovey dovey heads shoved up their asses. I know Sabrina. She's already more mature than I could ever hope to be, but I can tell she's growing even more because you've somehow given her a reason to do so. And you know what? Among those things, she's even growing strong. I saw you back there. You actually had that strength going for you until you decided to give in to that man and threw it all away. That's no honorable sacrifice. It was pointless compromise."

Everything I told him somehow hit him much harder than that punch I threw at him not too long ago. Apparently, there were things that even this stubborn mule was capable of realizing, but I was glad something made it through to him. Though with him being the way he was, I doubt he'd just go along with what I had to say. But that was okay. I'm just as stubborn a person, too.

"What reason do you possibly have to tell me all of this?" he asked me skeptically.

I chose to relax my back and loosen my posture, then took a deep breath. This time I looked at him, not with anger or frustration, but with sheer fortitude.

"Because I care about her, too." I told him.

Well, it was true. My closest friend on this island chose to put her trust in this loser and he went the distance to show she had all the reason to, until he fumbled it at the last possible second.

"I say it's pretty simple: I care about her. She cares about you. You care about her back. That sounds like enough reason to go through all of this. If you weren't worth it, I'd have just left you to rot after having you taste dirt." I explained to him.

The cowboy shot me a dirty glance upon hearing that last comment.

For a moment, he looked like he was about to lash out at me with everything he had, but then the most unexpected thing came out of his mouth.

"…Thanks…"

Yeah, it was a single world, and of course he said it with is usual irritating gritty voice, but he actually said something nice.

He was actually gratefully for something I did for him. Or to him, whichever way you looked at it.

I still remember all the annoying crap about people comparing me to this Mongol reject, but if there was one thing I had to admit that they were spot on, it was this:

We both respond unusually well to force.

It made me wonder how much of a breakthrough I might have made if I was wearing brass knuckles for the occasion.

With neither of us being the touchy-feely type, he didn't hug, handshake, or do any sort of "kiss and make up" kind of action. Instead, he simply took off again, but this time in the opposite direction.

"Are you going back to actually try and talk some sense into that walking villain cliché, or are you taking off?" I asked him.

"Neither; I want to talk with Sabrina about this whole thing first." He replied.

By some crazy miracle, he must have said the secret word, because at that point, it was none other than Sabrina herself who decided to show up to the party.

"V-Vaughn?"

"Sorry for walking out like that. Can we talk?"

Sabrina nodded hastily in return.

"Y-Yes."

Having taken a background role yet again, it looked like I got a chance to see why the hell Sabrina liked this crass cowboy so much.

At the very least, I can tell he's more civil with her than me… or anyone else for that matter.

So the cowboy sighed, looking shameful at his own recent acts of stupidity from what I could guess.

"I know I said I'd stop seeing you back there, but it was because I thought it would be the right thing to do at the moment. I don't know, I didn't want you to take that from your father, and if I hadn't done anything, I'm sure he'd do something, anything, to keep me away. I… just…"

"I know. You wanted to defend my honor?" Sabrina asked.

Vaughn replied with a nod.

"It's not just your father. I kept remembering that time you almost passed out, and I know just what was going on, but some of the visitors have heard about it. Apparently they think you faked ill just to lure me and have been calling you all kinds of nasty things. But that's not how it happened at all! Imagine, two of us, a heartless gold digger and a witch after a trophy husband?"

I think it was the first time I heard that man chuckle, too. But it was clear he was just getting moody in a weird way instead of trying to lighten things up with a joke.

"R-really? I wasn't even aware there were these sort of rumors about me." Sabrina gulped, "But you? You didn't deserve that kind of treatment, and I'm… very sorry…"

She then proceeded to lower her head.

"Sabrina? No, it's not your fault at all. Your father-"

"I must confess. That day when I fell ill, when you helped me, I had some suspicions of my own at first, too. When I think back about it now, however, I just feel so ashamed that I ever suspected you of anything. Perhaps I've seen all my attempts to stand up for you as penance of that suspicion…" she admitted.

All of a sudden, the cowboy had this astonished look on his face.

"Sabrina…"

Said girl winced in agony, looking like she was going to receive some due punishment for thinking bad thoughts about him, not like it was unjustified or anything.

Just as the poor girl looked like she was about to crap her pants, I saw a single gloved hand place itself on her face.

She opened up her eyes and was instantly lulled into complete comfort.

"Your father kept on insisting that I was with you this whole time for your money, but… but I… I-"

"I know. You were never that kind of guy, Vaughn. I've realized that for a while, now." Sabrina assured him, "We can't let things as they stand now. We should ask my father to listen to us again and give us another chance."

I couldn't help but find myself grinning with my best friend taking charge like that. She was always so mousy, but I could tell she always had that kind of strength within her, just like I told that thick cowboy not too long ago. It helped that she even stood up to me for that guy's sake.

And then, what happened next was something that really caught me off guard:

That cowboy was smiling.

And he didn't look like a sadistic douchebag while doing it, too.

It was one hell of a moment to see that he can actually smile like a normal person.

It made me wonder if this is why the folks at the café always tried so hard to get me to smile, too. Maybe I looked better with a smile kind of like that?

Not like I'm going to actively try to smile more because of this Kodak moment.

"Sabrina…" Vaughn uttered.

"Right. Let's go." Sabrina ordered with a cool confidence.

And just like that, the two of them took off towards the mansion one more time.

Of course, with me being that girl's best friend, there was no way I was going to miss the main event. With Sabrina's confidence at it's peek, there's no way Snidely is going to stand a chance this time…

* * *

**Up Next:**

**Time Skip to the Final Chapter!**

_**Yeah, I know this may come as abrupt. Not as much character development could me done as it could with a story with more chapters than this, but it really wasn't supposed to go on for so long. In any case, I thank everyone who's faved the story up to this point and any helpful feedback I got. Hopefully, I'll get at least a few more words in from my readers before the final chapter is up and ready, but I'm not about to get my hopes up with my recent record in the review department.**_

_**If anyone's interested, I did a one-shot from Vaughn's POV some weeks ago called "The Thing About Mothers" in case you might have missed it. It was weird writing that thing with him not being all that talkative, but it gave me some good practice at writing a not-so-wisecracking character. I may be a guy, but writing "Chelsea"'s POV from this story is much easier.**_

_**And for the Animal Parade enthusiasts, I really hope you might take a look at "Her Fond Farewell", a few chapter story that rewrites the ending sequence of AP by making the children older and giving more character development to some of the children. It's one of my recent favorite stories, so I hope you'll consider giving it a chance if you've played the Wii games.**_

_**Until the next and final chapter. Bye bye for now…**_


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